Broken Leaf
by IceAndWhite
Summary: “Haruno Sakura, you have been ordered to guard the prisoner Uzumaki Naruto.” After a strict order from the Hokage, Sakura has been forced to conquer her greatest fear—the rumored beast of Konoha. The tragedy is slowly revealed. NaruSaku Editing in process
1. Down and Up, Down and Up

**Disclaimer**: I do not own Naruto nor will I ever.

**Summary**: "Haruno Sakura, you have been ordered to guard the prisoner Uzumaki Naruto." After a strict order from the Hokage, Sakura has been forced to conquer her greatest fear—the rumored beast of Konoha. The tragedy is slowly revealed, piece-by-piece.

**Pairing: **Naruto X Sakura

**Edited as of March 2009**

* * *

**Broken Leaf**

_01. Down and Up, Down and Up_

_Did it ever occur to you how death might be?_

"Haruno Sakura, you are to guard the prisoner Uzumaki Naruto."

_What?_ This was definitely not what she expected when Tsunade had casually ordered her to the Hokage Tower. Uzumaki was the reason so many people had died seventeen years ago. He was dangerous, someone that Sakura definitely did not want to be in contact with. Was her sensei finally going to kill her? By assigning her to a _guard_ a murderer of hundreds of innocent people?

"Take this folder," commanded Tsunade, "It contains all the information on Naruto you will need. I expeect you to not abuse that information. Do not show it to anyone else."

"Yes, Tsunade-sama," said Sakura, bowing. She glanced briefly at the contents of the folder, gazing briefly on Uzumaki's photo. The first trait that caught her eyes was his blond hair. It looked bright, like the sun. She laughed inwardly. How ironic for a murderer to have such a bright colored hair. She'd expect black, but she'd be insulting Sasuke. She closed the folder. Normally, only the Hokage was allowed to view a ninja's file. Only those classified as dangerous or missing had their profiles aviailable. Even then, only the ones trusted by the Hokage could even think of gazing into the secret contents. After all, it was important information. People, especially ninjas, were not to be trusted.

With that, Sakura turned to leave, cursing at her luck when the door unexpectedly opened.

"Danzo-sama," her eyes turned to the ground. She bowed quickly, clearly disgusted at the man's presence. "Excuse me," she said using the courtesy she was taught, despite the fact that she felt that this man was the last person she wanted to be polite to.

A slimy hand snaked around her shoulder.

"Wait." Danzo looked at her with a sneer, "From what the council said…the Hokage has entrusted you with the task of dealing with the monster the Yondaime brewed. Make sure you guard it well, Haruno, or there'll be consequences."

Sakura's eyes flickered for a moment to Tsunade and Danzo. She had no problem seeing why Tsunade was the one sitting on the Hokage's seat and not Danzo.

* * *

The pink-haired girl shivered, quite a bit. The jail rooms were below temperature. She knew all about it, of coures. It was made to torture the prisoners, to show the wrong that they committed. All Danzo's idea. In Sakura's opinion, it was bad enough to stay in a place like this, a place built on Danzo's imagination. The place was void of windows, for fear of the prisoners escaping. The cells were also moved regularly so that the tenants wouldn't get used to their cell. The tenant would be moved down, to the lower cells, but never up.

At least this place was sympathetic in that aspect. It gave no false hope.

Her sandals scratched loudly against the dry cement floor, the sound echoing loudly; there was no other sound Sakura could use to compare. It didn't help that Sakura thought of the stairs as a downward spiral that traveled endlessly down to hell.

"Uzumaki Naruto," she pronounced the name slowly and took out his picture she had got from his profile. "Uzu-maki Na-ru-to." She practiced the name again, trying her best to pronouce it without any fear.

The keys around her wrists clacked wildly as she continued her descent. The sandals never ceased its scratching. She examined the picture of Uzumaki closedly, capting the little details as she did. She saw now that even though his hair was blond, there were faint shades of dark yellow at certain areas. And his eyes were a bright cerulean, almost as bright as his blond hair. She flipped over the small portrait and found the words she wanted: Cell 999.

She blinked. Cell 999 was the lowest cell possible. It looked like Naruto had spent a good time living here.

Great.

Sakura reexamined the picture of the smiling foolish blond. Did he know that he would be captured when he took his picture? How did he feel? Was he a murderer then?

Maybe. She had seen this boy, not too long ago, when she was only seven or six. It had been during a festival. There had been a huge crowd gathered at one of the sections. Curious, she had went and checked.

"_Don't look at it!"_

"_It's disgusting!"_

"_Monster…"_

"_Stay away, don't come close!"_

What had the villagers meant by those words back then? Did they know of his acts of murder? She scolded herself for not reading the rest of Uzumaki's files. After Danzo left, Tsunade had immediately ordered Sakura to pick up Uzumaki Naruto from his cell. According to the mission, Sakura was supposed to be watching him by living with him for a few months to make sure he didn't break any more rules.

It never occurred to her what rules he broke or if he broke _any._

Tsunade was so frustrating sometimes. Why had she insisted on having her be in the mission? She hated it. Hadn't Tsunade-sama heard the rumors of Uzumaki capable of killing an army or two? Hadn't Tsunade-sama heard of Uzumaki's unstable personality and lust for blood?

He was a monster and she was stuck watching after him.

Room 990. Nine more before her very doom appeared before her.

What would the Uzumaki do if he saw her? Would he kill her? Would he torture her?

Room 997. Two more. Her pace slowed while her heart pounded.

Thump-thump-thump.

Beads of sweat formed around Sakura's skin, but she brushed them off with her hand. Her breaths grew short, and she noticed that there was no enough ear to fully circulate through her lungs. The heart in her chest started beating louder and louder, until it reached her eardrums.

Thump-thump-thump.

**Room 999.**

It was her destination.

Shaking, the medic grabbed her keys, clumsily jamming the key into the rusty keyhole.

The door opened with a loud creak…

She had expected to find a monster wanting to claw her apart. An inhuman creature with blood slit eyes. She had expected his cell to be dyed in a crimson layer of blood, a cell full of dark and despair. Instead she found a person sitting silently on cold cement with warmth in his eyes and a smile warm enough to heat up the entire dungeon.

"Who are you?" were the first words muttered out of his mouth. It didn't sound rusty and dry, like how one would sound after not talking for a few years. It sounded like a teenager, like a person of her age.

He wore an orange and black jacket like the ones in the picture. His pants were a full orange. Red spirals could be clearly seen on both his jacket and pants.

"H-Haruno Sakura," she choked out. Her voice refused to obey. She had meant to sound more commanding.

"Why the hell is someone like you doing here?" he eyed her questioningly.

'Is he mad?' She wanted to slam the cell door and run out immediately. But, she stayed. There was something about the way he asked his question that prevented her from leaving. Perhaps, she thought, she was simply scared stiff.

"I mean it's not everyday I see someone like you in this dump," he chuckled, scratching the back of his head. "Don't tell me that you got sentenced to live here too? You sound pretty nice..."

"Eh…it's not that," said Sakura, a slight taken back by the blond's eagerness. So he wasn't trying to kill her, yet.

"Did…they decide to get rid of me?" he asked bitterly. Sakura winced at his words. Was he getting angry?

"No, I'm here to take you out of here by order of the fifth Hokage, Tsunade-sama," she stated, the same tone she used when she talked to her elders.

"The old hag's not trying to break me out again, right?" His face went to an uneasy smile, "Tell her…it's alright. I'm fine staying here. At least I get a free meal three times a day."

Sakura whacked him lightly on the head, a gesture that surprised both of them especially Naruto who flinched.

"I'm technically supposed to be guarding you."

"Oh," his face showed understanding, "Here to see how handsome I look up close, right?" He winked suggestively. "Sorry you have to spend time at the jail because of me." She heard a forced laugh.

Sakura sighed. Uzumaki was acting dense. Didn't he understand he was out of here? To show her point, Sakura walked over to his manacles and unlocked them.

It clattered and fell to the ground in a heap of dust and debris. Somehow, it spread a smile across her lips, like she was doing something right.

"You're coming back out, Uzumaki," she sighed, feeling slightly irritated at Uzumaki's listening skills. She wondered if he would believe her words. She supposed it would be hard to believe in the first place, especially when he had been locked here for so long. It was a wonder that he didn't go crazy already. At least, for her, she might have gone crazy already if she had to endure for so long.

"R-really?" For a second she spotted the little doubt in his eyes. Then it was gone, replaced with genuine gratitude and happiness in his eyes, "Thanks, Sakura-chan!" He didn't seem to notice how her eyes slightly widened at the mention of the added suffix. Then they became normal again, as if nothing had happened.

The only people that added 'chan' to her name were…no one actually. It seemed strange that a murderer of Uzumaki's degree would use that. They talked a bit on their way up the stairs, which was faster than it was down. Sakura supposed it was because she wanted to get out as fast as she could so she might have quickened the pace. During that time, she noticed how childish Uzumaki seemed…but still, she could not erase the feeling she had felt when she saw the hesitation in his eyes back at the cell.

It was natural of course. It was like someone revealing their deepest secrets to someone that they had just met. What were the chances of that?

When they finally exited the place, Uzumaki stuck out his tongue at the jail and said 'in your face!' earning a questioningly look from Sakura. Perhaps he was one of those crazy murderers that acted immature when they weren't on a killing spree. The sun blinded Sakura's eyes when they finally got out. Twice she looked towards Naruto, wondering if he would be bothered by its light. She had only been in there for a few minutes and already, her eyes had already grown accustomed to the dark light. She figured that he would be severely bothered, but for some reason, he wasn't. As they continued to walk across Konoha, Sakura couldn't help but steal more glances at Uzumaki. He was strolling around like he had never suffered in jail. In fact, he looked like he was never in misery and that he had never even gone to jail.

She guessed it must have been part of his unstable personality as a dangerous weapon of Konoha.

"Konoha sure has changed! I can hear more people! And it smells more and more like ramen!" he exclaimed.

"Uzumaki-san-

"Naruto!" he insisted.

"Naruto…how long have you stayed in…there?" she asked.

A silence. Uzumaki did not speak for a while.

"Um…never mind!" she shook her hands in front of her, "You don't-

"I think five or four years," Naruto squinted, as if he was trying to remember, "Don't really remember." He cracked a laugh, seeming to understand her awkward position. "It's nothing, you can ask me any questions you like!"

"Um…okay," she nodded her head, smiling a small smile. She didn't feel the need to tell him that she could potentially find out about him with the profile Tsunade had handed her.

"Oh, I almost forgot!" Sakura paused, "Tsunade-sama told me that the two of us had a mission today."

"She's letting me do missions, as in get out of Konoha kind or in Konoha?" he asked.

"Of course we're probably getting out of Konoha," retorted Sakura with an all knowing face, "I'm not going to do any D-Rank mission! Besides, there was once this idiot-" she froze, noticing her rambling. Uzumaki did not care about her past missions as a Genin.

"This idiot?" Naruto tilted his head in curiosity, urging her to go on. "What what what!"

"Well," Sakura looked uneasy, "There was this stupid idiot that ruined the faces on the Hokage Monument. My team had to stay extra late that day to clean it all up because they couldn't catch the culprit. I remembered that I was REALLY tired when I was finished. My arms went limp and I had to be carried back by my sensei. It was embarassing."

Uzumaki scratched his cheek, "Did…you ever find him?"

"The culprit?" Sakura shook her head, "We never found-

Sakura blinked, "Why did you call the culprit 'him'?"

Naruto looked from side to side and shrugged quickly, "I just assumed it was a he. I'm probably wrong!" he laughed.

"I see…" Sakura trailed off, not wanting to pressure Uzumaki any further. "Anyways, back to the mission. Since I am currently in charge of guarding you, you probably won't get a lot of missions to do unless I am ordered to go."

"How come?" asked Naruto, jumping over a small hole in the road.

"I'm a medic-nin," she declared, "I mostly work at the Hospital."

"Really?" asked Naruto, his eyes widening a bit, "I never saw you there."

"I just became a medic-nin two years ago," stated Sakura, "Plus, I just started to work at the Hospital recently."

"Cool!" grinned Naruto, "I get a chick _and_ a medic!"

Sakura grinned, her fake smile twitching. If he weren't classified as dangerous, his head would probably have been detached from his body by now.

* * *

The pink haired medic stood next to Uzumaki, awaiting the Hokage's orders.

"Still using chakra to lie about your age, eh old hag?" smirked Naruto, cracking a laugh. Sakura furrowed her brows. Tsunade-sama was not someone to be messed with… Still, Uzumaki himself was someone not to be messed with.

In an instant, Tsunade had leaned over her chair and punched Naruto straight in the face, "Still rude as usual, Naruto," she sighed, shaking her head. Naruto got up from the pile of rubble caused by the little explosion he had made at the floor.

"Ow…" he groaned, rubbing his head. Sakura noticed that he didn't appear harmed by Tsunade's powerful punch.

"Anyways," said Tsunade, reshuffling her papers, "This is an urgent mission. The Village of the Sand has their Kazekage captured and an wounded ninja that is the older brother of the Kazekage."

"I have already sent Gai's team after the Kazekage," stated Tsunade. "Haruno Sakura and Uzumaki Naruto, as your first assignment as a team, your mission will be to heal the wounded ninja Kankurou."

Sakura nodded.

"Can't we go after the Kazekage?" whined Naruto, "It seems more important…"

"Naruto," Tsunade twitched her eyebrow, "Being a ninja is not about having fun. It's about-

"Being able to help your village prosper. I know," he said.

"So get going," ordered Tsunade dangerously.

Naruto opened his mouth to speak but closed it instead and nodded.

"But Naruto, stay in after, I need a word with you. Sakura, go on first."

"Yes, Tsunade-sama," she nodded briefly and exited the room. She glanced at the two.

What was Tsunade going to tell Naruto?

* * *

Sakura sighed, walking down the stairs. It had been a long day.

Uzumaki Naruto…she had noticed it when he looked at her…the way his eyes were unfocused...

…he was blind.

* * *


	2. Amity or enmity

**Disclaimer**: I do not own Naruto nor will I ever.

**Summary**: "Haruno Sakura, you have been ordered to guard the prisoner Uzumaki Naruto." After a strict order from the Hokage, Sakura has been forced to conquer her greatest fear—the rumored beast of Konoha. The tragedy is slowly revealed, piece-by-piece.

**Pairing: **Naruto X Sakura

**AN: **For "spoilers" about Naruto's blindness scroll down to the end…though I'm not sure if you can consider them spoilers…

**Edited as of March 23, 2009**

* * *

**Broken Leaf**

----

_02. Do I feel amity or enmity? _

Haruno Sakura leaned down heavily against the wooden gates that guarded Konoha, folding her arms neatly against her chest. Her fingers tapped softly on the hard surface of the gate. She peered around. When she saw no sign of a figure, she started kicking her legs against the ground. To anyone else, she might have looked like she was merely bored. But, of course, Haruno Sakura never did something without a valid reason.

Just how much longer was Uzumaki going to take to chat with the Hokage? Even she, being Tsunade's student, was never in her presence for too long. Either Sakura got too intimdated by her teacher or Tsunade was swamped with some sort of Hokage-paperwork, which was often, considering the fact that Tsunade was a grade A slacker.

_Perhaps he had lost his footing along the stairs._

It occurred to Sakura that he was blind; there was no telling what would happen to him if he was left alone to the stairs. Sakura felt a sharp pain stir at the bottom of her stomach. Despite the fact that Uzumaki was a proclaimed monster of the villager, it was not right to think of such horrid thoughts. She sighed. He would probably be okay. While they were walking in the prison, he didn't seem to have any difficulty walking up the stairs. She leaned her head back against the gates, allowing her neck to stretch until she could look up to the sky. Was he always blind, she wondered? If not, when did he become blind? Suddenly, her eyes flashed and she snapped her fingers, cursing softly under her breath. The profile! That was the crucial item she would need if she wanted to learn more about Uzumaki. Still, his words stirred in her mind, the ones where he would answer her questions if she asked. She shook her head immediately after she thought of those thoughts. No doubt he would get anger. Anyone with a right mind would, if someone asked the questions she had in mind.

There were many reasons he could be blind. From the way he walked earlier, she could assume he was either extremely skilled or just lucky. It didn't even feel like she was walking with a blind person. She'd dare say if one couldn't see his eyes, they'd probably assume that he was normal, like everybody else. Everybody else. He did appear normal…so normal that she could forget his status if she was too comfortable with him. She'd have to remind herself that. Moving on with her thoughts, she figured that he was probably comfortable with his blindness. But, it still didn't answer her main question. Was Uzumaki born blind? Was that why he showed mastery while walking down the stairs?

She drifted away from her thoughts; instead, she listened the harmony of the birds as the moved along from the canopies of the trees. Sweet water drops from yesterday's rain lingered on, scenting the forest with an almost sugary scent. Uzumaki was not here yet, she remembered. What had Tsunade wanted to talk about with Uzumaki Naruto? Maybe it was about the years he spent rotting away in a cell. Maybe it was about her.

It surprised Sakura when she first found him smiling. There was a prisoner once, four years ago when she had worked as an assistant medic. The event happened during her shift at the hospital when a convict from Konoha's prison had escaped and was reported to have been spotted running towards the hospital. The nurses and doctors at the hospital panicked; chaos and havoc filled the entire hospital. At that time, Sakura had simply brushed the matter aside and went working before Tsunade could scold her any longer for slacking off.

And she never did see the criminal at the hospital. It was as if the event never occurred for Sakura.

After a day later, the matter settled down. The doctors no longer paled when they entered a room; the nurses did their best to continue on with their duty. Sakura had been sitting by the lobby room, taking a short break when she heard.

"_Did you hear about the prisoner?" whispered a by-passing nurse._

"_Rumors everywhere," another murmured. "What happened?"_

"_I saw first hand," spoke another one, "He just kept repeating the words 'want to die' over and over again until he ran out of breath and died at the east building."_

"_I visited the prison once. It was like going to hell."_

"_Imagine __**living**__ there."_

It made her think that perhaps, the prison in Konoha wasn't as merry as the Academy made it out to be.

Never mind that. What about Uzumaki's eyesight? There was always a way with healing; she knew a bit about healing eyesight, but would it be allowed? As the mission states, her priority is to make sure that Uzumaki does not harm or injure anyone living at the village. She highly doubted that healing his eyes would make her task any easier. Another option was Tsunade-sama. She was also best medic of her time. That's right. Sakura grasped the thought firmly. If Tsunade wanted to heal Uzumaki's eyesight, it would be fine, but Sakura would have to stay out of it.

Uzumaki and her were in two separate worlds after all.

It was dangerous to get close.

And she had no desire to. It made absolutely no sense that she would want to heal his eyes.

"Where is he…?" she spoke softly to herself, barely whispering the words. If waiting for Uzumaki took that long, she could have made her daily visit to the hospital by now and visited her teammate in there along the way. Sai, Sasuke, and Kakashi. They were Team Seven, one of the rookie groups that made Chunnin on the first exam.

"A lot of things happened every since," she mused. Sasuke had fallen into a coma after trying to fight his older brother and failing, horribly. It had taken both Sai and Sakura to successfully get him back from the grasps of the Sharingan user. Kakashi went away next, without a word to the both of Sakura and Sai. He was meet them at their usual spot for a 'new member'. Neither the new member nor Kakashi appeared. When they asked the Hokage, Tsunade had not bothered with an answer, saying that Kakashi was fine and okay. After a year later, Sai had disappeared into the organization by the name of 'Root'. Danzo. How she despised that name. If it weren't for that man, at least Sai would have still been here with her. She missed him, despite the fact he was a terrible person with nicknames. He still was her teammate, but that had ceased to be true a year ago.

Finally at the age of fifteen, a year ago still, Tsunade had taken Sakura as her successor. It had taken her one full year to become a medic with nothing but work and study. She hadn't mind. It wasn't as if she had anyone to talk to. Everybody was gone. She was alone.

"Is he taking his time?" she asked, mirroring a thought that had flew in her head. Her fingernails ceased their tapping.

She wondered if she could get new teammates. Sakura chuckled. Uzumaki was classified as dangerous. There would be no new teammates, only Uzumaki and her. She was stuck with him and he was stuck with her, like it or not. It was only a matter of time before he killed her or before he got jailed again. There was no other option.

"Tsunade-sama, Tsunade-sama, why did you give me this mission?" she asked again. It was a question to herself, of course. No one would dare question Tsunade up close, if they valued their lives.

'Except Naruto.' A smile crept up her lips. Only an idiot would comment on Tsunade's Hokage had gone considerably easy on him compared to a new Jonin who had recently achieved that rank. He had only made one small comment about her face before the Jonin landed in for a month. Sakura knew first hand; she was the one who treated his injuries.

"Ah!" she clapped her hands, "Idiot Naruto!"

What a perfect name for a guy like him. Idiot Naruto. It had a ring to it.

"No one's ever called me that before…" a soft chuckled followed with a loud bang of the gate.

Sakura felt her legs wobble and a sensensation of slipping down. Her whole body seemed to be dropping. But that was to be expected. His presence had been silent and unexpected, too much for the medic to handle. But for some reason, she didn't feel her body dropping into three feet of thick sticky mud. Instead, she felt a pair of hands holding her back. She looked up, seeing Uzumaki's face stare down at her.

"You okay, Sakura-chan?" His voice sounded gentle, even to Sakura. "I didn't mean to surprise you."

"It's alright," she replied, trying to not choke on her words. She released his hold on her arm gently, "We should get going soon; the mission is urgent."

"Sorry about coming late," Uzumaki apolgized, once more. "Lead the way, then! I wanted to lead, but the old hag told me that I was to listen to all your orders."

"Is that so?" Sakura nodded, pretending to not care that much. Could Uzumaki really heed her orders? Would he follow her?

He did, but he always stayed a few feet behind. It was as if he sensed her need for space, or perhaps, he wanted to stay away from her too. She didn't know.

* * *

Suspicion was always an issue in the shinobi world. Trusting the wrong person could be fatal while not trusting the _right _person could be lethal.

Sakura turned around to Uzumaki, who currently held his face towards the ground. It reminded her of a blind mouse, scurrying around the ground for scrap for leftovers.

"What are you doing?" she asked.

The Uzumaki prisoner did not answer for a moment, choosing to twist his head to the left. She tried again, getting the same results.

"Can't you hear it, Sakura-chan?" he whispered, so soft Sakura had to strain her ears.

"What?" she hissed back.

"There's someone following us."

Sakura almost snorted, but managed to refrain from doing so.

"I'm pretty sure you're wrong, Uzu-Naruto," she corrected.

"I'm not," he shook his head. His voice was serious for once "Listen, can't you hear the footsteps? Listen carefully."

"Fine," sighed Sakura. She sent up her chakra, allowing her ears to be more sensitive to the surroundings. Wind blowing…a small stream rushing…chirping…busy bees buzzing… Her mind zoned back.

"I can't hear anything," she bluntly stated.

"But-Never mind," he laughed heartily, "Must have been a mistake!"

"Yeah, probably."

Sakura glanced back into the depths of the trees. Headaches were also an issue in the shinobi world. Most did not get enough sleep. Sakura rubbed her head softly, applying some chakra to soften the pain. For the past month, she had only been able to grab one-two hours of sleep each night. Was Uzumaki like other ninjas? His face showed no signs of fatigue but instead the exact opposite: bright blue eyes and healthy sand-colored skin. Her eye slight twitched when she noticed three faint marks on both sides of his face. Were they whiskers? Again, the question could have been avoided if she had simply brought out his profile.

"Uzumaki-san…" The words sounded strange in Sakura's lips.

"Naruto," he persisted, "It's weird for someone to call me like that!"

"Um, okay," she nodded despite the fact he couldn't see her and so, that gesture was probably useless.

"Wait…why don't you promise?" he smiled.

Sakura gave him a questioning look, "Eh?" She didn't want to promise anything that would prove to be disadvantageous for her later on.

"To call me Naruto," he said, as if he were explaining it to a child, "Uzumaki-san doesn't fit me very well."

_He acts like a little child._

"Fine," she sighed, "I promise."

To her surprise, he sounded sincere when he stated his next statement, "Thanks, Sakura."

"Naruto?"

"Hm?" he turned toward her, blinking.

"Why are-" she licked her lips and shook her head frantically, "Never mind."

"What?"

"It's nothing," stated Sakura.

"Are you sure? If there's anything I can do to help..."

"It's nothing."

"Are you sure?" he asked again. He probably didn't mean anything by it, but at that point, Sakura was fully the full attack of a headache.

"Just-shut-up," she gritted her teeth, "You're annoying!"

Her eyes widened. She hadn't meant that, but the words had flew out of her mouth before she could stop them. The damage had been done.

"Sorry." The reply was curt. Cold. Polite.

Sakura nodded her head, "It's okay."

* * *

Why are you blind?

Sakura sighed, resting her head on her shoulders. Was that a question really that hard to ask? In the hospital, she would ask awkward questions all the time depending on the situation and not even blush once.

_This is not the hospital._

Sakura glanced at Naruto's back. Was he still angry at her early outburst? Getting a water bottle from her backpack, she walked over to the still Uzumaki.

"Thirsty?" she asked, tapping his shoulder lightly.

Naruto stayed silent in his position.

"If you do…I have an extra bottle of water…" she trailed off. This was obviously not working. Naruto had barely moved an inch.

"Err…Naruto?" she added. He did say he would respond to his name…

Naruto's head turned to her and snatched the water bottle, "Thanks! I was thirsty!"

Sakura smiled. "What do you think of Konoha?" she asked, taking a seat next to the blonde, "I personally think it's pretty decent compared to the other hidden villages."

Naruto gulped down his bottle, wiping his mouth with the sleeve of his shirt, "Okay, I guess." His voice grew more neutral now, and perhaps, Sakura thought it felt a bit forced.

"Hmm…really?" Sakura twisted a strand of her hair, "I see…" She supposed he would answer like that. Who wouldn't, after being forced into a jail for a few years? Sakura dug a rock in the soil, keeping her silence. She didn't know what else she could possibly ask without trying to offend the blond. Try as she might, there was still fear within her. Though he appeared so innocent, she knew what he could possibly be. The hospital had lent her experience of this sort. Normal ninjas could become thirsty bloody killers by simply grabbing hold to a weapon.

* * *

The two had continued their journey after the short rest with Sakura still leading. They had talked little afterwards. The sandy desert soon came into view, devoid of any trees or plants besides the occasional cactus. It was a barren wasteland with nothing but sand and more sand. It pleased her that they arrived this early.

"It's Suna!" exclaimed Sakura, "We arrived…early." She paused, scratching her head. How did that happen?

"Naruto?" The girl received no answer.

"Naruto?"

Uzumaki had stopped all movement, still facing the forest. His head sometimes turned left or right, but never toward the desert. Sakura felt a prick of fear enter through her veins. Was he deciding to go into an attack mode?

"What's…going on?" she asked.

"Huh…yeah..." Naruto turned, "The desert." He walked a few steps towards the sand and touched the ground, immediately letting go. Quickly, he tossed a kunai into the distance.

_Fast…_

A couple of small sand storms moved about.

Sakura's body grew rigid in place, "Who's there?" she asked cautiously, tightening her right hand into a fist. Did Uzumaki spot someone?

"No one's there," she noted.

"I guess, it was my mistake," he shrugged, but Sakura could still not shake the feeling of danger.

* * *

Four Sand ninjas were posted at the entrance. Normally more would have been assigned, but it couldn't be helped. The village was in turmoil after all.

"Do you think those Konoha nin caught up with the Kazekage yet?"

A shrug.

"How should I know? I ain't got super sight vision that can see for hundred of miles away."

"Suppose not." A chuckle.

Silence pursued. The only sound came from the desert.

"Do you think that the Kazekage is de-

"Don't," warned another one, "If Temari-sama hears that, we're dead."

"No worries," another one said, "She's probably tending to her brother's wounds now."

"Too bad Konoha didn't send a medic."

"We should be grateful we got any ninjas from them at all after that incident with the Sound…"

"There's a group coming!" one shouted. The other three rushed, revealing their own pair of binoculars.

"There's…a girl and a boy!"

"Get your weapons ready, it could be an enemy attack!" shouted one of the ninja in the back.

* * *

"We're finally there," exclaimed Sakura. "Get ready, okay."

Naruto nodded slowly, quickening his pace.

"I'll go on ahead to check," he stated. He seemed to bypass Sakura easily, without even breathing any harder than he had earlier.

"Wait!" yelled Sakura, "We need to show them our pas-

Naruto was long gone, already going to the narrow entrance.

"No," she sighed. He was no following her commands as a leader.

* * *

AN:

For Naruto's blindness, let's just say he's not really 'blind' yet he is…in a way.


	3. Day and Night

**Disclaimer**: I do not own Naruto nor will I ever.

**Summary**: "Haruno Sakura, you have been ordered to guard the prisoner Uzumaki Naruto." After a strict order from the Hokage, Sakura has been forced to conquer her greatest fear—the rumored beast of Konoha. The tragedy is slowly revealed, piece-by-piece.

**Pairing: **Naruto X Sakura

**AN: **

**Edited as of March 23, 2009**

* * *

**Broken Leaf **

----

_03. Day - Night  
_

The desert sand blew into her eyes and it seemed to matter little that she had held her arms up in an attempt to protect her face. Sakura could think on one simple word to describe the desert: dry. She didn't well enjoy the fact that every time she brought her sandals down, she would feel the scorching heat of the sand against the bottom of her heel. And now, she would have to quicken her pace to catch up to Uzumaki, in case he would escape. She had doubts before the mission about his loyalty with Konoha and this little mistake just proved her to be correct. Even as she ran further in, she could not see very well, with the dust flying about everywhere. Eventually, she could see further in and saw that four guards, all with clothes covering their mouths, stood.

She raised her hands as an attempt to show her benevolence, but that quickly proved to be futile for the girl.

"Naruto!" Sakura could do little against the loud dust storms. He, the supposedly intelligent murderer, was an idiot. The Sand wasn't the sort that would allow just anybody to waltz into their city; they required identification of some sort, and if they didn't see the correct identification, they wouldn't be very happy with the visitor. No doubt, with their leader captured, the Sand would place even more emphasis on security.

To Sakura's disbelief _and annoyance, _the blond continued at a rapid pace towards the entrance, Sakura's words sliding off like oil on water.

"Uzumaki, we have to show them the pass!" she yelled, waving a white scroll up in her arms. To her disappointment, he was failing to listen to her instructions. She wanted to believe that he would listen; after all, it would make life so much easier for her to simply believe his words that she never thought to question him.

The kunoichi widened her eyes; a kunai had flown from one of the Sand towards the blonde's direction. Some part of her willed herself to be quiet, that if she stayed silent, a nuisance would be gone. Life would go on as it always had gone, and she wouldn't have to worry about murderers breathing down her back every second. But, some other part of her knew that it would be immoral. Tsunade had entrusted her this task, and it would be impudent of her to disobey. Of course, some other part of her (her mind seemed to split three-ways) told her something else to, but she was too busy watching the kunai sail closer to its target.

"Watch out!" She caught her breath, the hot air seeping into her throat. She grabbed her throat and coughed, watching hopelessly as she awaited the collision between metal and flesh.

The kunai was caught in his hand. He placed it in his pouch, continuing onwards as if it had been nothing. Four more shurikens followed. Uzumaki back flipped, landing on his hands then feet. He had narrowly dodged a kunai that had been aiming for his chest.

He shouted a few words to the Sand, but Sakura couldn't hear his exact words, not with the wind blowing against her ears. The Sand attempted a couple of hand seals. Duplicates of the Sand appeared, poised and seemingly ready for attack.

She saw that Naruto had prepared to bunch of hand seals.

_"Getting out of hand…_" Sakura mused silently. "_Tsunade will kill me if I fail this mission."_

Whatever Uzumaki wanted to complete was soon interrupted by another attack. As he was about to release his hands, he stopped, turning to Sakura, as if in acknowledgement. It intimated her, but she shook her thoughts once more and concentrated. A huge wave of dust was followed by a gigantic loud crack in the earth. Particles of dust flew freely into the air, gathering into a spinning vortex. It was as if the ground was being pulled towards the sky.

"We mean no harm," said Sakura, standing in the middle of it all. She was covered in mud from head to toe, but she tried her best no to take notice, instead grabbing the scroll located in the back of her belt. She untied its ribbon and unrolled it, waving the seal inside. "I have a pass from the Hokage. We are from Konoha and here to help."

Naruto nodded a placid smile on his face. In normal circumstances, if he was her teammate, she would have raised hell by now, but she didn't. Now was the not the time, nor was he her teammate.

"Baki-sama never said anything about a new group coming from Konoha!" shouted back one of the sand ninja still shrouded in the shadows of the cliff.

Sakura bit her lip in frustration, groaning when she felt the dirt seep through her tongue once more. She definitely hated this place. "Please contact whoever is in charge at this moment. I'm sure we were assigned to be here."

The four Sand nin continued to stare the two, eying them carefully before one finally disappeared in a puff of black smoke. Sakura let out a sign of relief she didn't even know she had been holding. The rest of the time, the other Sand members commanded Sakura and Naruto to stand a distance away, least they try to attack. Sakura had to refrain from snorting at the point. That was the exact opposite of what she was trying to do. Still, that was how Sakura was forced to stand close to Naruto.

Like the nice girl she felt she was, she tried to start a conversation. She had never been practically good at it, but in the midst of all the panic and chaos, maybe it would serve to calm her nerves. "Hey, Uzu-Naruto…" she began, but her voice caught in her throat again, and she was uncertain to how to continue, "So…"

"The Sand are much more timid these days," stated Naruto, as if stating a thoughtful observation, "But still, thanks. I wouldn't have liked it if I had been forced to against those ninjas. And you wouldn't have liked it as well, right?"

"Your welcome," said Sakura, not quite sure what he meant. She cleared her throat, "It's a good thing we arrived early." Feeling that her legs had enough pain, she sat down on the sand, only to feel its hot burn. "And according to Tsunade-sama, it's only a matter of time before the poison done is irreversible. I need to be there soon."

"Then it would be their fault," said Naruto, kneeling down to reach Sakura's level. He wasn't quite there. His face was still a neck above hers. "Don't worry about it too much."

"I never said I was worrying," muttered Sakura. Try as she might, there was just something that irritated her when people claimed her to be worrying.

"Sorry then." Naruto chuckled softly; it was a sound that Sakura found to be relaxing compared the sounds of the raging sands in Konoha. "You're very easy to read, Haruno-san. And, I'm only calling you until you call my name properly."

Sakura felt her lips curve upward, but somehow, at the same time, she felt an urge to turn away. To focus her thoughts elsewhere, she poked her finger in the sand, like a toddler would do at a sandbox. "Ow!"

"You alright?" asked Naruto. "I think I still have some ointment I got from Tsunade in my backpack…" He leaned closer.

"Y-yeah," replied Sakura, choosing to stare at her wound. "It's nothing. Nothing that I can't take care of."

"You sure?"

"Yeah," said Sakura. She was sure that he was about to speak again, but instead, a sand ninja appeared.

"We have contacted Baki-sama and apologize for our behavior early." The ninja looked similar to the one who had attacked them moments ago. "Please help Kankurou-sama."

Sakura nodded; Naruto remained quiet, as if uninterested. The Sand Nin nodded briefly before the three leaped up in a cloud of dust. The whole way, Sakura couldn't help but continue to stare at the strange blond boy. Were those whiskers?

* * *

Temari snapped her fingers angrily, gritting her teeth. Kankurou's temperature was still too high and the poison showed no signs of going away anytime soon. She stood from her chair and stared outside the window again; when was the Konoha medic coming?

"Two people claim to be from Konoha!"

The news echoed throughout the hospital hall. Temari turned away from window, running to the source of the sound.

"Where are they?" She forced her voice to remain calm as she possibly could.

"That is…I told them…to wait for a higher authority to…"

"Tell them to come immediately!" She sighed inwardly. So much for trying to sound calm and collected. The ninja fled from her sight. Temari walked back into the room. "How's his condition still?" she asked one of the medics positioned there. The answer was a mere shake of the head.

"A few more minutes of pure hell until they arrive…" she walked back to the door, her body tense. Her battle fan lay forgotten, leaning against the wall. She closed her eyes, willing her body to relax. Soon, she heard a couple of footsteps echoing across the hall.

"The Konoha medic is here!"

She saw them then, one with soft pink hair and the other with light blond. Both rushed with consider speed. It was impossible to tell who the medic between the two was.

"Out of my way!" the girl shouted, rushing pass Temari instantly. The blond followed suit, though he paused to flash an uneasy smile, as if apologizing for the girl's unexpected behavior.

"I've…brought…them…here."

Temari nodded swiftly at the guard who was leaning against the wall for support, "Go back to your post." She turned a corner and rushed back to the room.

"_We're all depending on you, Konoha medic."_

Sakura released her heavy backpack first, relieving her shoulders from carry excessive luggage. It slowed down the arm and made it harder to move. It was practical sense to remove it. She moved on to examine the patient closely. His name was Kankurou. He was currently infected with a new type of poison that had been stuck in his system for around seventy-two hours. It was as if her mind had been taken over by some super genius.

Then she paused. "Uzumaki…can you leave first?"

To her surprise and relief, he replied with swiftly and with hestitation. "Okay." With a last nod, he walked out.

"I'm his sister," a kunoichi dressed in a black robe spoke up, placing a hand on her chest, "Can I-"

"Fine, but you have to hold him down," stated Sakura, not bothering to argue any further that needed. Family was trouble. The female nodded, instantly holding down Kankurou's shoulders. The medic tied her hair into a ponytail, wrapping her Konoha band around her neck. Sakura dipped her hands into a pail of lukewarm water. It was going to turn into a long night.

* * *

Uzumaki Naruto calmly positioned himself onto the bench. Mind you, the bench was as hard as a rock, though Naruto was pretty sure he would chose the rock over the bench. At least the rock would not smell of throw up or some other vulgar substance he did not need to know about. It was a curse for being able to smell so accurately. As time ticked away, his eyes began to waver. He yawned and positioned himself into another spot on the bench. Then came his light snoring.

"Wake up…" He heard an uncertain voice in the distant. He was almost certain that it was female and someone he knew. Naruto opened his eyes, though he didn't feel the need to do so at this point. He was dead tired and he couldn't quite understand why he would go through all the trouble he had gone through in the day to conceal his little secret.

"Yes?"

"I'm done with the operation so I would like to take this opportunity to heal your eye."

He frowned, "What?"

"You bruised it," she said it simply, as if it was as clear as day. "I saw it when we arrived at the hospital."

"It's okay," he said, "I heal fast."

"Still," she insisted. Even in the darkness with his useless eyes, he could detect the sense of worry in the girl's voice, the same girl that had rescued from the real darkness.

"Thanks, then."

* * *

Medic Sakura ripped out the leaves of the plant, taking care to not damage the roots. They didn't need this type of root. "Prepare a set," she stated, walking over to another type of plant, "I'll need something to grind the herbs together and a antidote testing scroll."

"Yes!"

Grabbing a handful of leaves and roots in her hand she dropped them gently onto a wooden table in the middle of the greenhouse.

"Time to experiment…" she uttered, putting on a pair of white gloves. At least she got past the hard part. Making an antidote was fairly simple; it just required a certain amount of intelligence and patience.

Sakura began mashing the leaves and roots together with a stone grinder, making sure that it was smashed enough to produce liquid. She took a bit of the liquid and tested it on the poison. It dissolved immediately at the touch of the antidote.

"Done!" she proclaimed, wiping the sweat off her forehead. She tapped her nails on the counter, remembering something.

_"I should make an ointment for Naruto…" _A smile flew on her lips. The idiot. Why did he try to hide his injuries? Maybe an ointment was easy. It wouldn't have taken her a few more minutes. With that said, she plunked a plant from the soil, beginning her second task.


	4. Frozen Sun Dessert

**Disclaimer**: I do not own Naruto nor will I ever.

**Summary**: "Haruno Sakura, you have been ordered to guard the prisoner Uzumaki Naruto." After a strict order from the Hokage, Sakura has been forced to conquer her greatest fear—the rumored beast of Konoha. The tragedy is slowly revealed, piece-by-piece.

**Pairing: **Naruto X Sakura

**AN: **…heh heh, things will get interesting back at Konoha…well, onwards to the story!

**Edited as of March 23, 2009**

* * *

**Broken Leaf**

----

_04. Frozen Sun Dessert_

Haruno Sakura hugged her pillow tenderly. Her internal clock told her there would be at least five more minutes until she was due downstairs, where her mother would greet her with a lovely plate of breakfast. But today, she was especially hungry. Scratching her head, she pushed aside her blankets and walked towards the door.

That was when an alarm sounded in her head. There was something wrong with this room. It felt hotter than usual; there was none of the cool air that greeted her in the early morning. Rubbing her eyes, she forced them wide open and yawned. The image that greeted her was shaky and unclear. She turned the doorknob.

"Haruno-san!"

The voice pierced through her ears like a bolt of thunder, jolting her awake. Her vision slowly stabilized, revealing walls made of dirt cement. The windows here were definitely less delicate than the one in her room.

"Uzumaki?" asked Sakura. That was when she realized her surroundings. She was in Suna, with the supposed murderer of Konoha. It hadn't been a figment of her imagination after all. Everything that had happened had been real.

"What time is it?" she asked, adjusting her focus.

"Afternoon."

Sakura tensed; she had not expected her body to have grown that much tired from the trip. She watched as Naruto learned against the window, "From what Temari-san and Kankurou-san said, the rescue squad has been out two days already…"

"They'll be okay," Sakura said, not entirely convinced by her own words. "I still have to heal your eye." She walked over to him. "Stay still, alright?" She was already looking at his eyes. The bright blue always surprised her. It was such a lithe color. She frowned. It was expected that some of the bruising to go away but… She moved her hands away.

"It's…fully healed. It's like the bruise was never there."

"I heal fast," declared Naruto with a shrug.

Nobody could heal that fast, unless he had a secret bloodline. She didn't persist in the topic, allowing to slide. Everything would be stated in his profile.

"Since we were never ordered to go after the Kazekage, we probably should be returning to Konoha," said Sakura.

Naruto moved away from the windows and nodded slowly, arms slightly limp. He stretched his arms up to the ceiling, "When do we leave?"

"Right now," she answered, walking back to her room. The door closed with a soft slam. Haruno Sakura leaned against the back of her door and sighed. It was up to Gai's group whether the Kazekage be rescued or not, not them.

She wasn't sure if they could manage.

* * *

"We can't thank you enough for saving my brother," said Temari, expressing her gratitude.

"I was doing my duty," stated Sakura. Two groups stood on opposite sides, one of Konoha and the other Sand.

"Good luck with your other brother," said Naruto, smiling once more. It reminded Sakura vaguely of a kitsune.

"Y-Yeah," Temari nodded, trying for decent smile. "Th-Thanks…"

From the rigidity of her expressions, Sakura could surmise that the girl was trying to refrain from asking them for any further help. It would overstep the boundaries of their treaty.

"We'll go now," Sakura bowed again, a small one. Naruto remained standing here, clutching tightly on the straps of his backpack. He was not moving, just staring at the ground.

"I'll go now, then," Temari stated. She muttered a brief farewell and disappeared from the view.

"Let's go then," said Sakura.

"…Yeah." Naruto jerked slightly as he turned Sakura and nodded.

'_What's he thinking?'_ Sakura raised an eyebrow, furrowing her eyebrows.

In the afternoon, the desert was hotter than yesterday with its white waves of scorching sand washing across the ground. The sun sat on top of the sky, basking in glory over its reign at the desert.

"Can you hear it now?" he asked, out of the blue.

"What?"

"The footsteps!" he urged, almost whispering his words.

Sakura glanced around the area. Wouldn't that be impossible? Suna's security was pretty decent. If a stranger had entered their village, especially with those four overly suspicious guards patrolling the entrance, the Sand would have known.

"There is no stranger," insisted Sakura, "I'm sure it's just your imagination." She casted a reassuring smile on her face, "We should be hurrying back to Konoha now."

Naruto skidded to a stop, face looking down at the sand, "This is the second time."

"Uzumaki," Sakura said placidly, "You're seventeen, this is not a time to be fooling around like a child! We have to get back to Konoha before that Danzo-

"_You_ go back then," said Naruto, digging through his backpack. He tossed a pair of earphones to her, "If you want to follow me, use that…" He clipped his earphones on. "Otherwise, leave me alone."

"We have to get back to Konoha, now!"

"You know, I really hate people that don't trust me…you're just like one of _them_." With that, he dashed off, leaving Sakura to stand by herself. She gritted her teeth. How could she believe a near stranger? Konoha was the main concern. Their village needed more people now, especially after that last encounter with the Sound. She kicked the sand. Naruto acted so much like a brat; it was amazing he wasn't a five year old. She couldn't understand his sudden outburst.

"The Uzumaki is an extremely unstable weapon, don't let it escape."

_Sakura tried her best to conceal her chakra. Her fate would be set if they found out she was eavesdropping on their meeting. It was totally unintentional. She had only met to pick up their cups, but as fate would have had it, she managed to land in a very compromising spot._

"_He's not dangerous." Tsunade spoke._

_"What will you do if he escapes, Hokage-sama?" asked one of the elders, "Can you be certain that the Uzumaki will not cause another commotion."_

_Sakura couldn't read the expression on Tsunade's face._

"_I believe in Naruto." _

"_Fine, your decision will be accepted on one condition…"_

_Tsunade cleared her throat, "Sakura, please get out from under there."_

_Sakura winced. Found out._

_"Um, nice to meet you all…" she waved weakly._

Tsunade certainly trusted him. She sighed."Naruto, are you here?" she tapped into the earphone.

"Ah!" A voice returned, "Don't do that! It's too loud…"

"Sorry," she grunted. A loud shrill sound passed through her ears. She realized it was from her earphones. "Don't do that!"

"Now we're even," said Naruto. She could feel his playful grin, somewhere out in the desert.

"Where are you?"

A long static pause.

"I couldn't hear that," said Sakura.

"I…" A longer pause, "I…don't know, but I'm catching up to our stalker."

"What!" Sakura shouted.

"Ah! You're hurting my ear!"

Sakura apologized, cursing under her breath moments later.

"Sakura?"

She stayed silent, letting him to go on.

"Wait for me at the borders of the forest. I'll be there. Trust me, it's a promise!"

"…" What if he chose to escape?

"_I believe in Naruto." Tsunade had sounded so certain_

"You know…I really hate people that don't trust me…you're just like one of them."

"I…I'll be there," she stated, "You _better_ come back or you're dead."

"Yeah!"

The earphones went dead, cutting off communication. Sakura wondered if she was a fool.

* * *

Sakura clapped her hands again for amusement.

The forest was not a wonderful place..

"Dull," she sighed, carving pictures on a tree trunk.

"That's where you are Sakura." A shadow swung down from a branch, landing.

"Where's whoever been following us?"

"They got away. Maybe it really was my imagination so we should go back to Konoha. Sorry."

"Are you okay, at least?" she asked. He nodded.

Sakura lifted her head from her cupped hands. "Liar," she proclaimed, "What's that wound doing on your hand then?"

"Huh?"

Before Naruto could object, Sakura grabbed his wrists and examined them closely.

"These were made by some type of weapon," she commented, releasing them, "What happened?"

"…he got away," he said, "I couldn't catch up with them."

"I'll look for the stranger," said Sakura, "If there is really somebody, it'd be best if we track them down."

"Didn't we have to get back to Konoha soon?" asked Naruto, a scowl on his face appearing on his face. It surprised Sakura. It was the first time he showed that emotion.

_'He doesn't want to chase after the spy and seems eager to get back to Konoha now…'_

"We're late already," pointed out Sakura, "Why not take the time?"

"It's really nobody important," repeated Naruto. His voice sounded firm and resolute. Sakura wanted to protest; why wouldn't want to prove himself right, when he go so angry at her for not trusting him today? She could feel the anger course through herself. What was wrong with him?

"Fine," she said, voice cold, "Still, it's too late to travel. You stand watch first. Walk me up during the second half and I'll stand watch then." She said nothing more as she prepared her sleeping bag, climbing in and closing her eyes within a matter of seconds, never once looking at Naruto.

* * *

"Nighttime sure is boring, that's for sure." Seven words that broke the unspoken silence.

Noisy crickets chirped loudly in a steady rhythm. The ground below was wet and moist from the sudden rainstorm that had occurred midday. An occasional stray wind would find its way into the depths of the forest and shake the leaves of the trees. Today was not a full moon. The crescent moon sat comfortably on its spot. Buckets of stars were dumped, filling the skies with millions of sparkles.

"At least it's not quiet. That would be no fun."

Sakura fidgeted on the patch of grass. She turned to her other side, oblivious to what was happening in the outside world. Her eyes remained closed, still in deep slumber.

"Never liked to sleep outdoors," mused the blonde. He paused. "Never really like to sleep. Too boring." A couple of leaves shuffled under his feet as the blonde shifted his weight. He turned to the sleeping kunoichi.

"I'm jealous of you. You're sleeping like a rock," he whispered, knowing that the girl couldn't hear him. The blonde waved his hand around in the air, catching the mist that had formed around. It was bitter and wet. "When's morning going to come?" he leaned on the same rock he had been sitting on a few hours earlier. No answer except the silence that followed after his every sentence.

"Hey Haruno?" he asked, pausing for the girl. She made no movement to respond. "You're really different from the others," he stated, "Little by little…it feels like you're accepting me…if only you knew…Too bad I can't see how you look, Sakura-chan. I really wanted to see your pretty face."

The medic turned again, adjusting to her sleep.

The blonde made no more talk, jumping up high in the trees. The only noise remaining were the crickets chirping quietly in the forest.

* * *

The radiance of the Sun rained down on Sakura's face, sending warmth to her cheeks. She got up quickly. It was her turn to stand guard. She opened her eyes, awaiting the darkness, but only saw the light instead. She sighed. Naruto must have fallen asleep and forgot to wake her. "Naruto?" she called out. He didn't reply. "Naruto?" she yelled out, louder. A shout of surprise came from above the canopies followed by a long drop and a thud.

"You surprised me," Naruto brushed off his jacket, "Good thing I landed on my feet…"

"You didn't wake me up," she stated bluntly.

He laughed weakly, "I fell asleep myself. I guess I was tired from the chase."

Sakura sighed, "Yeah…" She grabbed her backpack and took out their breakfast. "I only brought out lightweight food. Don't expect anything too fancy."

"What did you get?" asked Naruto.

"Let's see…" she read the labels, "Special flavored Konoha ramen."

Naruto gasped. "You…I can't believe it…"

"No big deal if you don't like it," Sakura quickly fished through her backpack, "I still have these snacks bars, so you don't have to eat the ramen if you don't want to."

"Don't want to?" Naruto burst right then and there, "This is the ultimate ramen flavor combined with beef, crab, fish, pork, and all different kinds of meat! They also have the TASIEST ramen! Konoha Ramen makes sure that the noodles are perfect! And the soup! The soup…"

"That's…great," said Sakura, fumbling with her words. Uzumaki had always seemed so distant, but when he was talking about something as simple as ramen, his true self seemed to radiant through. It scared her a bit, for no apparent reason. "Water…" she juggled her water pouch. "Not enough…Be right back," declared Sakura, "I need to get more water to cook the ramen."

"Okay…"

"Just a bit," said Sakura. She reached a river soon enough and got down to the edge, pouring river water into her pouch. '_He's weird_.' Sakura couldn't help but think again. The water swished around her pouch as she entered camp again.

* * *

Sakura rubbed her hands together again. The water sat in the pot, boiling as slow as ever. The water did not even show signs of bubbles.

"Did you know that the old hag and pervert used to treat me to ramen on my birthdays?"

"Hm?"

"Tsunade and Jiraiya. We used to eat at Ichiraku's, the best restaurant on the planet!"

Ichiraku. Sakura remembered Chouji had told her about.

"I've like ramen ever since," he smiled, "My birthday was the only time the old pervert was nice enough to treat me to a meal…"

Before she could comment, she was interrupted. "Look, the water's boiling!" grinned Naruto, "Time to eat!"A burst of bubbles surfaced up the water.

"We haven't even poured in the water."

"Close enough," said Naruto. His face, to her amusement, showed numerous expressions of delight as she poured in the water for ramen.

"Now comes the great part of this type of ramen," explained Naruto, "You don't have to wait for the three minutes of hell to pass, its eatable the moment you pour the hot water in!"

'_Crazy ramen expert_.' Sakura thought it would be a fitting second nickname for the Ramen loving blonde. He slurped up his noodles quickly, pushing the noodles up his mouth as fast as he could swallow with a pair of skinny chopsticks.

"Oh yeah, do you remember where the person you were following yesterday went?" asked Sakura, digging in her bowl of ramen but slower than Naruto.

"Mm-Yeah," he said in-between bites, "Imm-remember-mmwhere-mmthey-mmwent."

"Okay, so you'll lead later," said Sakura, hoping that he'd agree this time.

"MmOkay," said the boy.

* * *

The climate had almost reached its highest temperature of the day. The scene shifted back to the hot desert of hell and despair from the dark depths of the forest. Two shinobi from Konoha dragged their feet along the hot crushed rocks of sand. The air was a humid steam along with the scent of dust and salt wrapped together. The wind was neither cold nor breezy but a hot wave of breath brought forth from hell.

"Are you sure we're going the right way?" She suppressed a angry sob. Four hours into the desert again with no sign of civilization. Unlike before, the desert had somehow raised a few hundred more degrees.

"We're close. Trust me."

"We're lost," stated Sakura, not even bothering to form it in a question. Her legs were killing her, her hair felt like it was on fire, and she was sure she could peel off her cooked skin that had been baking in the sun for the last few hours.

"No, I think you're too dramatic. We're in the right spot."

"Called the middle of nowhere? Oven of death?" suggested Sakura, an impassive look on her face.

"Let's go!" exclaimed Naruto, bouncing away into the depths of the scorching orange desert.

'_Impossible,' _thought Sakura. No one could be that energetic all the time, right? She readjusted her backpack and continued walking. The sand sank before her weight, sinking her sandals in every time she walked and giving her a burning sensation on her feet. White blisters had formed on the soles of her feet and were slowly aching their way up. Uzumaki, he was prancing around so normally. The boy barely broke a sweat except for the time when he thought there were rattlesnakes around but other than that…

"Come on Sakura! You're dragging behind again!" he hollered, a few dozen feet away. He jumped up and down, waving two hands towards the pink haired medic.

"…Wait…up," she wheezed, panting loudly. With a final wheeze, she dropped to the floor, exhausted."I'll…just lie down here," she said, using her backpack as a pillow. It wasn't soft. The books in the backpack were jabbing at her head while the sun just added to her headache.

"You okay?"

She opened her eyes, shielding her eyes from the sun with a hand. A black shadow loomed over her, partly crouching. He placed the back of his hand on her forehead and later on theirs, comparing.

"You got a fever," stated the shadow, "Don't you know how to take care of yourself? You're the medic."

"Even medics…get sick," Sakura groaned out, feeling a sick feeling at the pit of stomach. Pushing herself up with the palm of her hands, she got up and wobbled a bit.

"Why don't you just heal yourself?" asked Naruto.

A novice question.

"You think I can heal myself in this condition?" Sakura raised both her hands. They were both shaking, "Besides, medical techniques are usually used for emergency or surgeries only. Other situations should be healed naturally or by medicine," stated Sakura. "I didn't bring any medicine for headaches or fevers so that's a no too. Just go on for a while, I'll catch up."

"You just said wait up a few seconds ago," said Naruto.

"Well, it can't be helped right?"

"I'll just sit and wait till your headache's over?"

"I don't know when my headache's going to go away though," said Sakura. "I don't want to trouble you."

"Its nothing," Naruto waved a hand, "Compared to that cell, this is a piece of cake." He sat down a few feet away from her, immediately leaning both sides of his cheeks on the palm of his hands. "Get better."

Sakura doubted that would happen. The Sun was doing her no good, constantly sending rays of hot light and pain, which added more to her headache. Even with closed eyes, she could still see the blood-red color of the blazing star. She felt a sour liquid rising up her throat, threatening to come up. Sakura took deep breaths, hoping to calm her upset stomach.

"It's…so hot," she moaned, covering her head with both hands.

It was like the hot sun had rained down.

* * *

A dead and steady stillness with nothing but the crackling of a fire. Slowly, the silence was replaced by the waves of breezes and the flying particles of sand. For a moment, Sakura thought her back had finally cracked under the pressure of the sand. Releasing her numb fingers from her face, she wiped away the dust that had formed over her. It then occurred to her that it was night.

Suddenly the sand was not hot, only warm.

Once again, she attempted to push herself up in a sitting position. The headache in her head had dispelled, leaving her with an upset stomach. "Wouldn't it look nice if it was one of those ice deserts?" mused Sakura. Instead of sand, there would be miles and miles of white snow.

As she said that, a flake of white crystal ice drifted down to the sand.


	5. Ding Dong Requiem

**Disclaimer**: I do not own Naruto nor will I ever.

**Summary**: "Haruno Sakura, you have been ordered to guard the prisoner Uzumaki Naruto." After a strict order from the Hokage, Sakura has been forced to conquer her greatest fear—the rumored beast of Konoha. The tragedy is slowly revealed, piece-by-piece.

**Pairing: **Naruto X Sakura

**Beta Reader: **Haishiro

**AN: **The characters arrive back to Konoha in this chapter! And a beta reader XD

**Edited as of March 24, 2009**

* * *

**Broken Leaf**

_05. Ding Dong Requiem_

_---------_

The first specks of snow floated to the red sand. It was like a frozen wasteland, void of any living object. She only had Uzumaki as company now, the blond who was now resting against the soft soil, eyes closed entirely. She placed her hand on his forehead, attempting to find any sign of warmth. She did. She then placed her own hand on her forehead. It was cold.

She blinked and tried the procedure again, not quite sure what to think of the results. She rubbed her forehead and found that her headache appeared to have gone away during the night. Her stomach was once again at rest and wasn't threatening to empty its contents.

She held out both of her hands, in an attempt to catch some of the falling snow. In the end, she only managed to catch a few specks. Most of had turned into water by the time it had reached the soil. Uzumaki woke up soon afterwards, looking refreshed and lively. She was glad at least one of them wasn't completely dead.

"How was your sleep?" she commented.

"Great!" he laughed. Sakura nodded, not use to his recent behavior. He was so lively now, compared to how he had acted when she met him a few days ago, in that dark cell. There were certain times that even her mind had began to doubt the fact that this Uzumaki was indeed the same Uzumaki that had been trapped in the dark. It was hard to believe.

A twig cracked. She swung her head to the direction of the sound. "Did you hear that?"

Naruto shook his head, "I don't hear anything." Once again, his tone had switched into a more serious one. She moved her eyes to the blond, and to the source of the sound. There was something terribly wrong…

"I'll go to investigate anyways," she said. With that, she got up and raced away, never allowing Naruto to respond.

* * *

"I was sure I heard somebody," muttered Sakura, jumping over another large patch of snow. She gritted her teeth irritably. There had been no doubt she heard a noise, but she had disregarded the fact that the noise didn't necessarily have to have come from a human.

The snow crunched loudly below her sandals. Drat. It was a misjudgment on her part and she only hoped that Uzumaki wouldn't berate her too much for her mistake.

'_So much for stealth' _She sighed. Turning around, she realized that Naruto was nowhere in sight.

"He can follow the footsteps," she nodded, quickening her pace.

Light footsteps were embedded in the snow, so he should be able to follow, right?

* * *

Sakura edged her head towards the left, peering into the vast desert. Nothing. She turned her heads towards the right, and still, only the desert greeted her. She breathed out a wisp of smoke, coughing. Was the shadow something caused by her headache? Perhaps she really had not seen in after all. She stretched her neck to stare to the sky. The snow had long cleared, along with its clouds. That meant that even the clouds weren't capable of creating any shadows.

"You're faster than you look." A voice spoke behind her. She twisted around, spinning on her sandals. She saw Naruto, leaning on his knees and slight panting.

Sakura looked down to the wet sand, "Sorry, I got ahead of myself when I thought I had seen the stalker. I guess I was incorrect."

"Oh," he said, too short a response for Sakura to properly interpret his words, "That's alright."

She frowned, still unable to decipher his true response. Did he mean it, or was he merely saying that because he was trying to act polite to catch her off guard. Just a few days ago, he had been so keen on capturing the stalker, but now, it didn't seem to matter that much to him anymore.

An explosion sounded loudly through the area, echoing through Sakura's eardrums. She resisted the urge to scream and hide. There was no place to hide for Sakura. The collision had rocked the whole area, sending piles of wet snow crashing down.

"What is this!" Sakura dropped to knees against her will, tumbling into the snow. In the corner of her eyes, she could see that Naruto suffered the same fate, also crashing into a pile.

"It's that crazy manic who's been dropping bombs all over Suna. I heard it from the Sand nin," shouted Naruto, coughing a lump of snow from his mouth. Sakura winced.

"I think something happened to the Kazekage," he said, getting up from the snow. He glanced towards the direction of the Sand village and took off quickly, barely leaving any prints in the snow.

"We aren't supposed to be chasing after the Kazekage!" reminded Sakura. She sighed. It didn't make much of a difference. Though, from her knowledge, the Kazekage had been taken up north. Konoha was in the southeast. How far would they have to travel and what was Uzumaki's intent for helping another nation? Even basic knowledge of where the Kazekage had been kidnapped would be classified information. He could have only known if someone had secretly passed down the information to him. And for all she could have known, this someone could have harbored ill intent towards the leaf. She almost laughed out loud with her thoughts.

It could all have been a coincidence, with the type of luck she had.

Pushing herself off from the freezing pile, she trailed after the pale prints in the snow. Sakura took the opportunity to shake off the ice that had layered across her body. She didn't take her time, knowing that she would have to hurry before the snow covered her only trail leading to Uzumaki.

"So cool…" she remarked softly. Eying the snow one last, Sakura hopped quickly to the source of the explosion, hoping that it wouldn't have been too late. The scene was large, and she figured that the big crater in the hole was at least one-fifth the size of Konoha. It also seemed to extend ten feet below ground. Specks of tiny little figures could be seen standing close, hunched together. They seemed to be crowding towards one particularly spot.

Sakura shivered, rubbing her legs. A medic skirt could prove to be one of the worst things one could wear sometimes.

* * *

Deserts were unpredictable places, always randomly blowing out sand or snow storms. Life was similar to deserts too, in that aspect. Sakura wondered to herself why she had been so selfish as to have wanted to arrive back to Konoha, when she could have done _something._

She stood on the last row, the further person away, but that was expected.

She had arrived late.

She wondered if Uzumaki was up front, seeing how he arrived before her, before the snow had reached a height where it had reached her knees. A burst of regret twisted in her stomach, leaving a faint scar as it disappeared. In a twisted ironic way, this vaguely reminded her of the Sandaime's funeral. Only, this time, instead of someone who had been expected to die because of old age, someone unexpectedly young had disappeared from this year.

The snow was falling again; the sky was crying with frozen tears because it couldn't with wet tears.

The medic pushed around the crowds, silently edging her way towards the front. The people shuffled around, easily allowing Sakura to pass. That didn't make her feel better. She knew that she could have helped, and then, no one would have had to suffer. She cursed inwardly, biting her lower lip. As she reached nearer and nearer to the front, she discovered that less and less people were standing. Most people had chosen to remain in the back.

It was a pity, but she knew she had no right to say anything.

At the core of the crowd gathered six people she recognized instantly. She said a brief greeting to them before falling silent. The three other strangers, she ignored.

A lone pillar of stone stood idly in the dirty snow with a name carved on it.

_Fifth Kazekage Gaara_

* * *

"Are you still cold?"

Sakura nodded briefly. Her voice didn't seem to be functioning correctly. Even if she had known Gaara on a personal level, she had heard of his great devotion to his village. He was not someone so easily replaced, if even such a task was possible.

"You're weak," commented Naruto, laughing. He speeded up a bit, getting ahead of her. Sakura nodded her head again, barely able to hear his words.

"I'm bored; are you?" It seemed to Sakura that he was determined in making conversation. But, still, she shook her head.

"Well, I'm bored, so why aren't you bored as well?" he asked, twitching his nose. He sniffed, wiping his nose with the edge of his sleeve. "I hate this place."

Sakura turned her gaze towards him. There was something about the way his body tensed and the way he moved. It all was so forced and rigid, so unnatural to the trained medic eye.

"Are you saddened by the Kazekage's death?" she asked. When she asked it, she found the words to be more tragic than she would have expected, or wanted.

She noticed an odd silence had occurred between the two, and for a moment, she wondered if she had overstepped her boundaries as someone he had merely met two days ago. She swallowed and took a deep breath. She realized that Uzumaki had kept quiet.

"Do you suppose that the dead are in a better place?" His voice was quiet, ever-so calm in the midst of the blowing storm. Sakura wondered if she had heard correctly.

"Maybe," she said, finding her voice to be the same as his. The two continued in silence then, with Sakura finding comfort that Naruto, somebody, was with her.

* * *

The rain continued onwards, even when they had reached Konoha. Even the dirt here remained damp; the skies were the same tint of gray as the ones in Suna. But Sakura could feel her spirits somewhat lifted at the idea of being back home.

"Most of the time we spend will be at the hospital," said Sakura, silently recalling the many tasks she had abandoned to have gone to the mission to Suna. No doubt, there would be many overnights and sleepless nights. "But first, we have to check in with Tsunade-sama, along with Danzo." She frowned. The man's name left a bitter aftertaste.

Naruto nodded, as if he was barely listening. He closed his eyes for a moment, and for that instant, Sakura almost asked him if he had died. Then he opened them once more and was off, dashing in the marketplace, splashing the puddles. He diligently dodged the many people who were roaming around with their grocery bags and other luggage.

"The ground's wet," commented Naruto. He lifted up his sandals from the dirt, "My feet are practically sinking in!"

Sakura laughed, noticing his apparent change in behavior. "That's why you don't walk in watery puddles."

"Everything's wet," pointed out Naruto, "Surely you aren't suggesting that I fly?"

Sakura chuckled softly, covering her mouth, "No."

"Hey, you're smiling again."

Sakura nodded, keeping her silence. He himself said nothing as well, and instead, leaned against a dry portion of the wall of a shop. She wondered how he managed to be so precise in the spot he chose.

"Do we have to report to the council?" His voice sounded timid, unlike the merry tone it had been moments ago.

Sakura was glad she could correct him, "No, just the Hokage and Danzo, if we're unlucky."

"Oh, I see!" He nodded knowingly, "Just make sure." His lips curved to a smile once more, and for some strange unexplainable force, Sakura couldn't help bringing hers to a stupid foolish grin as well.

* * *

Tsunade's nails tapped her desk constantly speeding up. She leaned her head on the palm of her head, trying her best to stiffen a yawn that had bothered her for the last few minutes or so.

"Tsunade-sama, will you please stop that improper tapping?"

Her fingers fell back to her lap and she shrugged. "As you wish."

"Hokage-sama," huffed the old woman, "You are the leader of this village. Please be conscious of your actions."

"Though not as old as you are, I am sure I am just as wise." Tsunade flashed a smile, though a rather sarcastic one.

The Elder looked huffily at her, narrowing her eyebrows. Tsunade didn't seem to take notice of the elder's actions, her fingers tapping again, softer.

"The two are late," commented one of the older Elders sitting in the back, "We have been waiting for two days. I must say, we have other tasks to attend, much important ones."

Tsunade's expression did not change. If the Elders truly had other tasks to attend to, it didn't explain why they didn't simply leave.

"I believe in the both of them, Sakura and Naruto," stated Tsunade calmly, directing it at all the Elders. The group had "insisted" suddenly on inspecting how the younger generation of Konoha had been doing. It had taken a lot of coaxing from Shizune for Tsunade to even consider allowing the Elders with their pointless decision.

She was the Hokage. This was her office. By Konoha law, she had complete rule over who gets what kind of mission. Of course, the Elders have some kind of influence over the Hokage's decisions.

Some. Just some.

"The most important matter is keeping the citizens of Konoha safe, Hokage-sama," croaked one particularly shriveled woman.

"Konoha is safe," stated Tsunade.

"If you say so _Hokage-sama_," Danzo sat in the dark corner, idly waiting, "Let's hope that the two shinobi you trust so much arrive soon."

"I have absolute trust in them; they must be doing something important to arrive late," declared Tsunade.

The room became silent. Tsunade swore the group of elders became statues at that time, before finally deciding that it was better to become human again because it was the best way to bug her. Tsunade folded her hands together in a polite manner, pressing them against her lips. She tried her best to avoid the bright rays of sunlight that bounced off the metal on her desk and straight into her eyes.

The door creaked open loudly.

Naruto and Sakura stood, wet and dirty looking as ever.

Tsunade sighed.

So much for first impressions.


	6. Something Sinister

**Disclaimer**: I do not own Naruto nor will I ever.

**Summary**: "Haruno Sakura, you have been ordered to guard the prisoner Uzumaki Naruto." After a strict order from the Hokage, Sakura has been forced to conquer her greatest fear—the rumored beast of Konoha. The tragedy is slowly revealed, piece-by-piece.

**Pairing: **Naruto X Sakura

**Beta-Reader**: Haishiro

**AN: **Err…sorry for the long wait. Laughs weakly…Btw, this chapter's mainly setting up the later events, have fun reading!

**Edited as of March 25, 2009**

**Broken Leaf**

_06. Something Sinister_

* * *

Sakura always believed bad luck to be true and that it lurked in life's corners and holes—it was only a matter of where and when it decided to pop out and shock her. This time, she wondered if it was Uzumaki getting stuck in the unfortunate situation. His face, light as it was, grew a fraction darker, layered with an unfamiliar coldness that had not even surfaced in their first meeting.

Naruto's smile, the one that Sakura had gotten so used to, fell from his face. Right then, she felt a twinge of regret for bringing him back, even though she knew it was impossible for her to not to.

He stayed by her side, but took a step forward a second later. "What do you want from me?"

"Impudent boy."

"Impolite as ever, Tsunade. Is that how you civilized him?"

"Uzumaki." Her voice was barely a whisper as she tugged on his left sleeve. "Calm down." In response, to her dismay, he pulled his sleeve away from her and took another step forward.

"Why?" His question was brief. "Why are they here?"

"I would suggest you to be more polite while talking to our leader," piped in an elder.

Naruto did not response. It was then that Sakura noticed that he was not breathing correctly. His breath was uneven and if she had not known what he had done previously before this, she would have suspected that he had ran a marathon. But, of course, he didn't. Was he scared?

"Sakura, you are dismissed," said Tsunade, never sparing a glance at her disciple.

"But—

"Dismissed, Sakura."

Sakura glanced to Naruto and nodded softly, "Yes, Hokage-Sama."

As the door was about to close, she saw Uzumaki flash a quick grin to her. Somehow, it made everything feel better. She clutched her fist. It was time to look at his profile. Her stomach churned at the mere thought of peeking; it didn't feel right, invading someone else's privacy.

* * *

_Tick tock tick tock._ Though the old clock was beyond ancient, having been in her family for many generations, it still worked. It sat on the floor of her living room, looking out of place as a dead body in a cafeteria. She laughed at her joke. Perhaps the hospital was really getting to her. Left of the clock stood the only table in her apartment. It mattered little, since Sakura only needed one. The pale folder sat on the edge of that table, now sprinkled with gray dust, as consequence of leaving it out for the last few days.

She frowned, wiping the cover with a used napkin. She grabbed a chair to sit with and stared at the folder in front of her blankly. There were the words "_Uzumaki Naruto"_ labeled on the front, printed in standardized letters. Her eyes wandered to a tiny dot of dust, watching it float in loops and circles. It fell to the folder.

She blinked.

There was the folder, still waiting to be read. She reached for it, feeling her hands grow damp and sticky. When she touched the folder, she felt the moisture on her hands become absorbed by the folder almost immediately. It unnerved her a bit, but she kept on going, opening the folder.

"Name: Uzumaki Naruto."

"Rank: none."

"Parents: unknown."

"Status: jailed/guarded."

"Special: Jinchuriki?"

Sakura paused. That word had appeared in a conversation somewhere.

* * *

_"You're in for it now, forehead girl," smirked Ino, "Studying last minute for Tsunade's test." _

"_Shut up," Sakura madly flipped through the textbook._

"_Give it up," sighed Ino, using her hand as a fan, "Even you can't cram for this."_

"_Can," argued Sakura._

"_Can't."_

"_Can," Sakura grabbed another book off the shelf, "Don't tell me what I can't do!" She stomped her foot._ _The bookshelf rattled and learned forward. It leaned back against the wall and forward again._

"_Sakura, don't take that book out," Ino lifted her eyebrow._

_Sakura narrowed her brows and she ignored Ino's words. The bookshelf groaned, tipping over with the imbalance._ _Sakura twitched, quickly grabbing a side of the shelf as Ino proceeded to help. The shelf groaned once more before settling in place. A lone book dropped to the ground._

"_I told you," Ino frowned; brushing the dust that had fell to her hair. "And put that book back."_

_Sakura picked up the book from the floor._ "_What's this?"_

"_A book." answered Ino._

"_I see you've been hanging out with Shikamaru," said Sakura, rolling her eyes._ _She flipped through a few pages, eyes gleaming through the details._ "_Look at this book. There are some weird pictures on it."_

"_We're medics. You're a full time one too. We've seen worse things," _

"_Look," Sakura pulled Ino towards the book._

_Ino's face turned into a look of disgust, "What is that?"_

_Sakura bit her lower lip, following the text with her finger._ "_It says that this is what happens when one of the Jinchuriki 'loses control.'"_

"_What's that suppose to mean?" Ino asked._

_Sakura continued on, "Jinchuriki, according to the text are…" She gasped, "Humans sealed with a tailed beast within…"_

"_Close that book," Ino scolded, "It looks creepy."_

"_But the idea of it-_

"_Look, we're going to be late for Tsunade's test. You know what happens when we're late."_

"_I know," Sakura nodded, reluctantly putting the book back._

_She forgot all about it after the test._

* * *

"Special, Jinchuriki, Kyuubi."

Little buzzing noises flew around her head. The front of her chest felt sick, like she had been cheated out of something. The doorbell rang. Sakura jumped up. The folder slipped from her hands. Papers messily flew around the apartment. She scooped down to the floor and hastily tried to pick them all up.

The bell rang impatiently again.

She got up, straightening her clothes. She took a deep breath. It was only a doorbell. Her hand grabbed hold of the steel knob—and turned.

"Hey Sakura!"

Her breath caught hold of something and choked. "Y-You."

"Are you scared that I manage to find my way to your house?" he laughed, "Don't worry. I didn't stalk you. An ANBU member led me here after the meeting."

"Oh, I knew that," she choked out.

"Come in," she said, after a moment, nearly tripping on the carpet. This was definitely an unexpected visit.

"Are you alright, Sakura?" asked Uzumaki, moving in to help her. His hand hovered over to hers.

"D-Don't."

"What?" he frowned, twisting his eyebrows, "Do you need help standing up…?"

"Don't get near me!" The words were out before Sakura could stop them and in a few seconds, she was out of her house, gone from Uzumaki's sight.

* * *

"_Ino-chan, Ino-chan, what are we playing?" asked little Sakura. Around her hair was the red ribbon that Ino had given to her a long time ago._

"_We're not playing," declared Ino, "It's called training. There are going to be a couple of other people coming."_

"_Really?" whimpered Sakura, placing her hands in front of her mouth, "W-Will they make fun of me?"_

_Ino patted her head softly. "If they make fun of you, stare at them straight in the eye!"_

"_O-Okay," Sakura nodded. She turned her head to the grass. She always thought of Ino as the heroine and herself as the sidekick._ _Licking her lips, she picked up a tiny flower from the grass and twirled around her thumb. The stem felt wet. Another kid, looking around the same age, walked past, appearing to be carrying something._ _Sakura gulped. It was now her turn to be brave._

"_H-Hello," she waved with flower in hand._

_The little kid looked over, a peculiar look on his face. He set down his box labeled 'Ramen' and pointed at his chest, tilting his head sideways, as if wondering if Sakura had indeed talked to him. Sakura nodded slightly at the blonde and smiled bashfully._

_Meanwhile, Ino got up in front quietly._

"_Get away from us!" she hollered._

"_Ino-chan?"_

_The blonde took one scared glance at the duo and took off._

"_Sakura, you almost got us in trouble!" scolded Ino._

"_Huh?" Sakura blinked. "I didn't do anything naughty."_

"_You talked to that guy," she hissed, "Everyone knows your parents will get mad if you talk to him."_

_When Sakura's eyes started to water, Ino held up her index finger, "Remember to stay away from him. My mom said so."_

"_O-Okay," Sakura nodded. Ino was smart so there was no doubt in her mind that her friend was right._

_She let out a huge grin._

* * *

"He was that tiny boy…" Sakura sighed, leaning back against the bench. Evening had arrived at last.

The girl stood up, slapping her knees lightly. "I'll go back…and apologize."

The bushes shook violently.

Sakura widened her eyes, "You're-

* * *

Tick tock tick tock. The room basked in a warm yellow light. A dark shadow crept up to the room, negating the light. The figure's pink hair blocked most of the sunlight. And when the person entered the room, she quickly wrapped her keys around her wrist, as a method to soften its ring.

The old desk still staggered to one side. The sofa sat on the edge of the wall, next to the dusty window. The folder and its documents lay scattered across the wooden planks of the floor. She scooped down again and gathered them all in a big pile.

"Hey Sakura." A new voice greeted her, "I'm afraid you can't get rid of me that easily."

Sakura lifted an eyebrow, "And why's that, your highness?"

"I'm Konoha's number one most surprising and annoying ninja."

Instead of responding to his previous statement, she stared at his jacket. "S-Sorry about earlier. I'm really sorry."

"One of those female things that I should not know about?"

"Eh, yeah." She hadn't the heart to tell him the truth.

* * *

"_You're-_

_Sakura leaped backwards, feeling a bead of sweat slide down her neck. _

_ "Sai." Her eyes softened, and she felt them water._

"Y_ou were the one following us…" Sakura stated, "I should have known. Kakashi-sensei always said you were the one most suitable to be a spy."_

_She broke off._

"_So, how's life?"_

_Sai widened his smile, "Perfect. It's the same whether I have team mates or not."_

_Sakura felt something twist in her chest, "I-I see. It's weird how Team 7 is scattered around now." _

"_How's Sasuke-san?" asked Sai._

"_I didn't get a chance to visit him yet._ _I guess I should be going soon. I have something important to say to somebody…" she turned away, but her head turned back. "But don't hesitate to come visit me, okay?" She knew perfectly well he wouldn't._

"_Sakura-san, wait."_

_A long pause followed._

"_You know why I was assigned to follow you."_

_Sakura waited for Sai to continue, continuing to stare into space. Leaves picked up from the ground and started twirling around._

"_Your friend seemed to realize who I was to you. I did find it strange that he did not tell you about me."_

"_What did you do to him?" _

"_Already friendly with your new teammate? You always made friends the easiest."_

"_Sai, what did you do?"_

"_Nothing," Sai shrugged, "I just told him I was there to make sure he stays in control."_

"_That's not your job."_

_He walked a step forward to Sakura, "From your movements, you show that you know little to nothing about Naruto-kun. It's foolish for someone like you to do this."_

"_I can do this," argued Sakura, "The Hokage entrusted-_

"_Do you even know why he's blind?"_

_Sakura stopped cold, her mouth hanging from her last sentence._

"_Four years ago, the Hokage accepted an deal in order for the Jinchuriki to not be imprisoned too long."_

_"What?"_

"_The Elders decided at that time to curse the Jinchuriki with a jutsu until further notice."_

"_W-what?"_

"_Sakura-san, give it up. You were always the baby of our team."_

_. She shook her fists, "If you'll excuse me, I have somewhere to be."_

* * *

Life could be so cruel sometimes. Why was he assigned the annoying task?

Shikamaru heaved a heavy sigh. He hated getting the food for the team barbeques. It just had to be like Ino to tell him to buy the groceries at the last minute. He had to _hurry_ out his own house and into the market.

Life could be so troublesome.

"Sir, are you awake? You need to pay."

"Yeah," he sighed, scratching his head. He moved away his cart, as if changing his mind. "Never mind."

"I was halfway through scanning your items, sir," the cashier sent a glare.

"Sorry," he yawned, "I'll just treat them at a restaurant." He placed his hands in his pocket and attempted to leave.

The cashier merely looked at him dangerously. Shikamaru sent back a bored look.

"Do you really hate ramen that much, Sakura?"

Shikamaru frowned. What a loud person.

"It's not real food."

"Sakura?" he muttered. She appeared to be talking to a stranger, or at least, someone he never met. Shikamaru yawned again. He rubbed his eyes and continued walking. It wasn't his business to mind about other people.

* * *

_Sizzle. Sizzle. _

"Meat!"

"So you got too lazy to buy the groceries and decided to treat us?" asked Ino.

"Yeah," replied the shadow nin. He placed a hand behind his head and leaned back against the seat.

Ino nudged his shoulder; "You're always like this.

Shikamaru shrugged in response. _'Most of the time, the prepared barbeques are disastrous.'_

"What?" retorted Ino, staring at Chouji slap another batch of meat. He started flipping the meat over and over again.

"It's not going to help it cook faster," stated Ino bluntly. Chouji ignored her. Surprisingly, none of the meat managed to fall out of the grill.

"There's something on your mind," stated Shikamaru.

Ino checked her nails silently. She scratched at the paint on a few of them. "No, there isn't."

"Your wrinkles show the truth," Shikamaru pointed out.

"What?!" Ino touched her face, "Don't tell me I'm this worried my age is speeding up!"

"So you are worried," stated Shikamaru.

Ino froze, "So you tricked me?"

"So, what's your problem?"

Ino fidgeted in her seat, taking a piece of meat from the grill. She chewed on a corner and placed it down. "I'm worried about Sakura. When I come to her house, she shoos me away."

"Also, even her mother didn't see her for a while. I'm really worried. It's like she's hiding something from me." She took a drink from her cup of tea.

"I see," Shikamaru nodded. It was a lie, but it was the correct response in situations like these.

"Why aren't you guys eating?" asked Chouji.

"Who says we aren't?" retorted Ino sharply. She picked her chopsticks and grabbed a piece from meat from the grill.

"No fair Ino, that was my piece!" whined Chouji.

"You told me to eat!"

"But not my meat!"

"So troublesome."

* * *

Today was another troublesome day.

Shikamaru knocked on the Hokage's door. Left of him was an ANBU member who had _politely _instructed him to arrive at the Hokage's office.

"Come in!" Tsunade's voice rang loudly in the hallway.

Shikamaru hesitated opening the door, but the ANBU member didn't.

"Good morning, Tsunade-sama," he said in his famous bored tone.

Tsunade sighed at his antics. She threw him a folder across her desk.

"I want you to follow this person."

He grabbed the folder, narrowing his eyes. What now? "Isn't this Konoha's Root? Shouldn't someone more experienced than a Chuunin be receiving this task?"

"We both know who's suited for this task," smiled Tsunade. "I want you to keep track of his movements."

Shikamaru waited for a while, "How long do you want each report?"

"Every week," answered Tsunade.

He did a curt nod and exited. His shoulders were slumped with his feet dragging the floor. He rubbed his hand over his face. There was so much work to do he didn't even get to say his favorite word.

Troublesome.

He heaved himself down the stairs, slowly. There was no big hurry.

Bam! Green collided with orange. Shikamaru fell back on the stairs, dropping his folder a stair below him.

"You alright?" It was the annoying blonde at the market.

Shikamaru stood up and dusted his jacket for debris. "It's you-" he stopped himself. _'Must get away as fast as possible.'_

The blonde stood up, "Do I know you?"

"I mistook you for a friend," lied Shikamaru. "Sorry, I should be going now." Shikamaru mocked wave and continued walking down. He stopped when he felt a hand grab at his collar.

"Hey, hey, hey! We haven't even introduced ourselves!"

'_Troublesome guy,'_ twitched Shikamaru. _'Maybe if I ignore him he'll go away.'_

When Shikamaru made no move to answer, the blonde opened his mouth instead, "Name's Uzumaki Naruto! You?"

"Nara Shikamaru," he stated, "I never heard of you and I really have to be going now."

"Wait!" Naruto blocked his path once again.

"What?" asked Shikamaru. His voice was a bit harsher than he had meant to.

"I was supposed to go to the hospital but I somehow ended up here.

Shikamaru narrowed his eyes, "If you ask the Hokage-sama, I'm sure she'll assist you."

"Thanks, Shikamaru."

"You're welcome," he choked back, walking quickly down the stairs before the blonde could change his mind. There were crucial things to do than babble with an idiot on a pair of stairs.

Too bad he forgot about his folder that he accidentally _left on the floor._

* * *

Sakura looked out the window another time, rubbing her hands against her skirt.

"S-S-Sakura-san?" A soft petal-like finger tapped her shoulder softly.

"Hey Hinata!"

"Hi, Sakura-san. I-Is everything alright?"

Sakura grabbed Hinata's hand, "Can you do me a favor, please?"

Hinata nodded lightly, looking a bit pale. She twiddled her fingers in her usual manner. "W-What is it?"

"Great!" Sakura patted her on the back. With a smile she said, "I can't get out of the hospital now but you're off shift right now, right?"

Hinata nodded.

"So can you help me find a certain person?" asked Sakura. Her face was almost touching Hinata's. Sakura looked around the hallway; "I have to get back to work soon."

"H-How?" asked Hinata. She shook her head and changed her question, "I mean who?"

"Uzumaki Naruto," answered Sakura.

"I don't know him though," said Hinata.

"Hmm…" Sakura absentmindedly started tapping her fingers at the wall. "He had blond hair…and blue eyes…just call his name out," said Sakura, practically pushing the Hyuuga out of the hospital.

"Thank you!" she waved a goodbye, "When you find him, can you bring him back immediately?"

Hinata nodded once again before scurrying away in the busy streets of Konoha.

"Uzumaki-san."

No one replied back.

Everywhere around were all dark-haired people. There was not one blonde in sight.

"Uzumaki-san?" she called out again. The hospital was out of view. She had walked a long way already. Had this Uzumaki Naruto really gotten lost? It seemed kind of suspicious. She clapped her hands. Perhaps Sakura had been tricked. This Uzumaki person never was going to the hospital. She would have to find a way to apologize to Sakura if that was the case.

Her stomach growled loudly. She looked up to the sky. It looked close to mid-noon and she hadn't been able to have breakfast back at the household due to a family dispute. Hinata needed a quick way to obtain food before heading back to the hospital. Looking around, she spotted the old Ichiraku's ramen shop.

"Come on pops! Let-me-enter-the-contest!"

Cheering crowds were gathered around the small shop today though instead of the regular two or three people. Labels of 'Ramen Contest' were labeled everywhere. Hinata was surprised that she hadn't seen it before.

Maybe whomever Sakura needed to find was inside. There was a possibility seeing how so many people were crammed in that shop today. With a strong nod, she took a few steps forward and moved in on the crowds. It was worth a try.

She peered ahead.

"Let me enter!"

"Not without a partner. Even _you_ won't last the first round!"

"Excuse me." The scene switches back to the shy Hyuuga heiress. She pushed slowly through the crowd.

"I can win this contest by myself!"

"Uzumaki-san?" she called out. She pushed aside the crowd with both her hands and squeezed through the middle. There were two people assigned per chair, four chairs in total. One sat alone by the corner, blond hair and blue eyes. Hinata gulped. It was time to take a chance.

"Uzumaki Naruto?" she poked his shoulder lightly.

The blonde turned instantly, so fast Hinata wondered how he didn't break his neck. She noted that his face seemed extremely childish for his age. It was probably that big wide grin of his that influenced her thoughts.

"That's me?" he placed a thumbs up, "What's up?"

A breath of relief flowed through Hinata. She had found whomever Sakura needed. Hinata found herself forming the words naturally, rather than thinking before speaking, "Can-you-come-with-me-to-the-hospital?" she mumbled out softly.

"Can you allow me to be your partner?" Naruto repeated slowly. "Sure!" He grabbed her arm and banged the counter.

"I got a partner now so I can enter, right?"

Hinata blinked. The shop owner looked toward Hinata for clarification. She nodded weakly.

"Fine," the shop owner sighed, "You're in Naruto."

The blonde flapped his arms in the air. He turned over to Hinata and shook her hand, "Thanks, um…what was your name again?"

"Hyuuga Hinata," she answered.

"Thanks Hinata!"

"Y-You're welcome," she nodded, the words feeling strange coming from her. She wasn't used to saying them. "So what do we do?"

"Don't worry!" Naruto declared, "Just eat as much ramen as you can."

"What?" Hinata turned paler, "I-I-"

"Hmm?" asked Naruto.

Hinata backed away, bumping against the wall, "Never mind, it's nothing."

"Okay!" He turned back to the counter and grabbed two pair of chopsticks, one for Hinata and one for himself.

Eight large bowls of ramen were brought out and passed to each group. Hinata could feel the hot steaming soup rise up to her cheeks. Was…that spicy flavor?

"Remember, the group that eats the most doesn't have to pay. The last group will pay for them. Begin!"

Naruto started off like a piranha, literally eating the bowl clean of its contents. Hinata gulped. At least he didn't eat the bowl.

"H-Here goes nothing…" She closed her eyes, picked up her chopsticks, and crammed the noodles into her mouth.

"Go, go, go!"

The praises and cheers kept coming. Though Hinata knew that most weren't meant for her, it was nice to hear something positive.

Slowly, she finished her first bowl.

"Refill at station 2!" called out the owner.

Almost immediately, another bowl was brought out. Naruto slammed his chopsticks.

"Another one for me too!"

She stole a quick glance at his pile. Five huge bowls were messy stacked. Looking back at her pile, there was only one bowl. A bead of sweat rolled down her cheek as she licked her lips. She was dragging him down with her slow pace.

Hinata sniffed the ramen. The steam of the food flew in her nose with its salty scent. She twisted a strand of noodles with her chopsticks and jammed it in her mouth. Maybe they would win.

* * *

Hinata downed another glass of water. She wiped her lips along the edge of her sleeve and set the cup down.

"We won," she grinned weakly, making a V sign with her fingers. She swallowed down a cough.

Naruto patted her on the back, "You sure can eat!"

"Y-You too," said Hinata. They were the champions in the Ramen Contest: 41 bowls in total.

Hinata frowned. Something seemed familiar. There was something about his movements.

"R-Ramen boy?" she squinted, looking closer at his features. Now that she had a moment to think carefully, he did look like him…

She gasped, "It really is you!"

"Ramen boy?" asked Naruto.

"Y-You know, at the playground," said Hinata. She felt sweat form at the back of her neck. Her hands were refused to stay still, "I remember you were helping me out with the bullies even though you were carrying a box of ramen."

"I-I remembered because y-your voice sounded kind of similar," she added quickly as an afterthought. "Um…I'm probably mistakened-

"You sure change emotions really fast…" sighed Naruto, taking back his seat.

"Oh no, I forgot. Sakura-san is still waiting!"

"S-Sakura?"

"Y-Yeah," Hinata nodded.

The whole way back, Hinata couldn't help but smile at his company.

"We're here," stated Hinata. She walked in the glass doors and peered around. Sakura was nowhere in sight.

"That office freak at Tsunade's office told me not to bother Sakura for the entire day…" he stated. "Can't believe I fell for it…"

"Sakura?" asked Hinata. Were the two close?

"Anything wrong?"

"N-Nothing," Hinata shook her head, "Sakura should be at his room right about now…"

Hinata gestured Naruto to follow her up the stairs to the second floor. It held a different mood to the hospital. The second floor was quieter than the first. The lights buzzed unstably and occasionally a few would turn off for a few seconds.

Hinata hugged her arms tight to her jacket. A chill went up her spine. She avoided this place, if possible.

"S-Sorry, b-because I forgot…" Hinata apologized, breaking the silence.

"Don't worry about it."

"O-Okay," Hinata nodded. "Sakura should be at B229, Uchiha Sasuke's room."

"Who?"

"He was part of Sakura-san's old team. He's been sleeping here for a long time."

"What a lazy bum guy."

"You mean yourself," said a new voice. The person stood by the door, arms crossed. "Don't tell me you got lost for two hours?"

"Err…" Naruto deadpanned, "Did I mention you're a wonderfully nice person, Sakura?"

Hinata stepped up, "I-It was my fault."

"Don't protect this lazy bum," said Sakura, "He's even trying to wiggle his way out of it by sweet talking."

"I'm not," Hinata assured, "We were at a ramen eating contest. I forgot about the hospital. Sorry, Sakura-san."

Sakura sighed, "It's alright, as long as nothing bad happened."

"Oh sure, blame me and not Hinata-chan."

"She wasn't the one that caused me to be so worried this whole afternoon," snapped Sakura. "I almost prescribed the wrong medicine to a Genin."

"Sorry, I lost track of time."

"So anything else happened?" asked Sakura.

"Um…we found out that we knew each other," Hinata said softly.

"R-Really?" Sakura cleared her throat and shrugged, "That's great, I guess."

"I don't really remember it though."

"Idiot," sighed Sakura.

"W-Well…I won't bother you anymore," said Hinata, "I have to get back to work as well…" She shifted her weight and walked down the stairs.

"She's weird," said Naruto, "but acts kind of nice."

"I have nothing to say to that," Sakura stated, walking back into the room. She took a seat at the right of Sasuke's bed.

"I wonder when this lazy bum is going to wake up. It's been a few years already…" She brushed the messy hair away from the boy's forehead.

"Anyways," Sakura got up from her seat, "Know that I'm supposed to be guarding you so I need to know your location."

Naruto wiggled his eyebrows. "Even the restrooms?"

"Yes, that too, unfortunately." Sakura walked out of the room, "Follow."

"Where to?"

"Home," laughed Sakura, "My shift has ended already because it took so long for you to arrive."

"Wait," said Sakura, "Stay in this room first while I check out, okay?"

Naruto plopped down on the floor. It was rather clean, like someone had spent the time to clean it every day.

"Uchiha Sasuke…your name sounds kind of cool…I guess, but my name is cooler heh."

Maybe if Naruto could see, he would have seen the Uchiha's hand twitch slightly.

The season in Konoha was changing.


	7. Rejoice

**Disclaimer**: I do not own Naruto nor will I ever.

**Summary**: "Haruno Sakura, you have been ordered to guard the prisoner Uzumaki Naruto." After a strict order from the Hokage, Sakura has been forced to conquer her greatest fear—the rumored beast of Konoha. The tragedy is slowly revealed, piece-by-piece.

**Pairing: **Naruto X Sakura

**Beta-Reader**: Haishiro

**AN: **This version has been looked by with my beta-reader

**Edited as of March 26, 2009**

**Broken Leaf**

_07. Rejoice_

* * *

Uzumaki Naruto imagined that he would be bored. Having spent several good years sitting alone in a jail cell with no one to talk but himself, he expected of himself that he would have been able to have no trouble with the term "boredom." Uzumaki Naruto and boredom were like oil and water; they simply did not mix.

But he still found himself bored and had to preoccupy himself with counting the bowl of ramen that appeared in his head. He reached six-hundred, but that only proved how desperate he was to get rid of his boredom. It was strange that once Haruno Sakura left his sights, the world appeared to be such a tedious place. There was simply nothing interesting around.

"…What number of bowls was I go again?" He deadpanned, twitched his lips into something even he couldn't describe properly, being the creative ninja he was. He leaned his head back, colliding with the soft fabric of the mattress that the famous Uchiha Sasuke now slept.

He lifted his head again, dropping his shoulders in a childish manner. His face turned to the sleeping Uchiha once more. It was true. Uchiha Sasuke was nothing more than an idea in his mind. For all he could know, Uchiha Sasuke was a forty-year old man fat beyond belief, with a big bald head as well. There was no way of clarifying; Naruto long established that fact during the long hours of staying with Uchiha, the bed-ridden patient.

"It's a secret for now, sorry." Naruto was referring to the incident when he had heard Sasuke twitch his fingers. Of course, that could be his mistake too.

Naruto lifted his eyebrows, even if there was no one there to witness his prank. He revealed a set of paints he had hidden under his jacket; he had received them from Hinata. "Now that my eyesight's coming back, I say that a test run's in order, right?"

* * *

Sakura's eyes did not stray from her desk. "So, do you feel the after-effects of the antidote?"

"Um, am I suppose to?" asked the Genin.

Sakura sat with an amused look, "You could tell me if you felt anymore pain?"

"Oh, my stomach doesn't hurt anymore," she said, a rosy blush in her cheeks. The Genin got up from her spot.

Sakura attempted a weak smile, which she found tiring, considering that she only caught two hours of sleep last night."Next!" When the next patient didn't come in after a while she looked up from her desk. Hinata was standing there, giving her a patented shy smile.

"S-Sakura-san, it's my shift now," Hinata said, "I-I'll tell them to move to my office."

"Ah, its okay," said Sakura, "Just use mines. It'll be easier for you and the patients." Sakura stretched her arms up, "Lunch break time."

Hinata nodded and sat down on Sakura's seat, already reading the next document. At that, Sakura began her leave, not wanting to waste another minute when she could be taking a well-deserved break.

"Konohamaru, Moegi, Udon," she frowned.

The three froze at her voice, not daring to move. "It's the scary lady…"

She walked over slowly, gathering a steady beat in her steps. She took glare in focusing her glare at the three genin, a tool that she had honed over the years, both from personal experience and by experimentation. When she was in front of the three, she stopped and paused.

Suddenly Konohamaru went to the ground praying, "Please don't hurt me!"

"Why would you think that?" Sakura laughed lightly_. _It only seemed to upset Konohamaru.

"It's not Konohamaru's fault!" chirped Moegi.

"I'm sure," Sakura nodded dully, a sarcastic look to her face. She reminded herself that she would have to ask Udon later for the details and exactly how the three managed to land themselves in the hospital for the fifth time this month. It was a miracle that she didn't meet anymore distractions on her way to Sasuke's room, or she figured it would only be a short trip, with her walking to Sasuke's room and walking back to her office. After all, her break wasn't exactly the longest period.

"Naruto!" she called out, "Come on, it's lunch time."

"Err-"

"What happened?" Sakura touched the mess of colors on Sasuke's face, "…Is this paint?"

"I was bored?"

Sakura grabbed a paper towel from the dispenser and wetted it under the faucet. "Please don't do this again," she sighed, "I have enough to do."

"So, so, so, what are we having for lunch?"

"Salad," Sakura grinned as she wiped the paint off Sasuke's face. It was the perfect payback, according to Ino, who she took Chouji to an all-you-can-eat salad buffet.

And so, time passed till around evening.

"You're not still mad about lunch?" questioned Sakura, "It was just salad."

"It really was just _salad_!" exclaimed Naruto, "Where was the dressing? Don't tell me you were too cheap to afford that!"

Sakura sighed, shaking her head exasperatedly, "You don't get it, do you? Dressing's fat. We might as well have drunk oil."

Naruto refused to say anything afterwards.

Sakura was not able to ignore the blond as well. It didn't make sense to give someone the silent treatment. She labeled it as "child's play". "Now when we get in, make sure, I mean it, make sure you don't say anything about the mission. My friends are nosy enough as it is."

Naruto pouted, but seemed to nod his head.

The door opened.

"Hi!" greeted Tenten. Her hair was tied up in her usual buns, only this time, the ribbon had a more lively shine. "Sakura! About time you came to one of our reunions! And that person over there's-" Tenten moved away from the door, "Come in, my house's kind of small, hope you don't mind!"

"Not at all," Sakura shook her head. She entered, along with Naruto.

"Nice place you have here."

"Nice _friend_ you have there," winked Tenten.

"Oh, he's-"

"Wait!" said Tenten, grabbing Sakura and Naruto, "Introduce him to all of us!"

She dragged Sakura to another room that contained a huge table. It took most of the space in the room. The other members of the Rookie 9 were seated, noisy and chatting. Most of the members were busily occupied with their food. Sakura took the chance to drag Naruto to one of the corners of the room. With luck, they wouldn't be noticed.

"More meat, put in more meat!" shouted Chouji, thrusting both arms out to the ceiling.

"You never change," sighed Ino. "…And what's with that weird fire in your eyes?"

"We wouldn't have to put more meat if someone didn't eat it all," said Kiba. He looked to his dog, "Right, Akamaru?" The dog barked once, which Sakura assumed as yes.

"What?" Chouji looked offended.

"Guys," Tenten clapped her hands, "Look who's here!"

"You?" guessed Lee, "But we should not have to guess about that…" He stroked under his chin, "Perhaps…this is a puzzle!"

"No, it's not Lee. Over there," Tenten frowned, pointing to the left corner of the room, revealing Sakura and Naruto, who was desperately trying to grab a few slices of meat.

"S-Sakura-san and U-Uzu-Naruto-kun," acknowledged Hinata, giving a short wave.

"Woah, haven't seen her in a while," said Kiba.

"Hey?" Sakura waved weakly.

The word echoed through her ears a hundred more times. It was definitely not the best introduction one could make.

"So…how have you guys been doing!"

"Been fine."

"Same."

"Usual."

"Worse."

"Enough about us," said Ino, brushing a strand of hair away from her face, "How have you been doing, forehead girl?" She leaned her elbow on the table, edging towards Sakura.

"Fine," said Sakura, taking a sip from her cup. She slammed the cup down on the table, rocking the water in the cup. "How have you been doing, Ino-pig?"

The people in the middle immediately felt cramped.

"Want to talk outside, Sakura?" asked Ino, readying her arm.

"Gladly," retorted Sakura, pushing out her chair. "Naruto, stay behind."

"Err…sure…?" he said, grabbing a piece of meat. "Feel free to take your time."

The two girls left and the room resumed its loudness from before.

Naruto glanced around the room. His vision dulled again, changing the scenery into a swirl of mixed colors. There was a big brown blur in the middle of it all; he assumed it was the table. Then his vision strengthened again. The mix of colors transformed into solid objects, one he realized that was a friend.

"Hey Hinata!" he waved, walking over to her. The seat next to Hinata was empty. "Can I sit here for now?"

"S-Sure, Ino probably won't be back for a while…" said Hinata.

"You know that guy, Hinata?" asked Kiba. Hinata answered with a nod.

"Uzumaki Naruto," said Naruto.

Kiba smirked, "Inuzuka Kiba." With that, he went back to his own business.

"T-Take a seat Naruto-kun." The shy girl twiddled her fingers. "H-How are you?"

"Okay," answered Naruto. He leaned a bit sideways, struggling to look at the doorway. "I wonder what Sakura's doing out there…maybe I should check."

"Y-You could always go check, but they could be talking about g-girl stuff. Maybe you should wait here," suggested Hinata. "Y-You can always talk to me, if you want."

Naruto nodded obediently, taking a seat next to Hinata, "Okay!"

* * *

"_Just_ a teammate?"

Sakura nodded.

"Are you certain he's _just_ a teammate?"

Sakura nodded.

"Seriously?"

Sakura nodded, again.

Ino groaned, "And I thought you finally found somebody."

"Speak for yourself," said Sakura. She crossed her arms evenly.

"_You're_ the one we should be worrying about instead," said Ino. Sakura glared at this.

"I mean, you barely show yourself in public. No one knows what's going on with you."

"I'm fine," declared Sakura, rolling her eyes, "I'm going back inside. It's getting cold, so you should too." She opened the door and shut it quietly, leaving Ino outside.

The pink haired medic rubbed her arms rapidly, hoping to get rid of the coldness burning her flesh. Cold was something she was never quite fond of. The socks covering her feet did little help to conserve warmth. As she opened the sliding door into the room with the rest of the group she heard another door open. It was Ino.

"Wait up," said the blonde girl, "You have got to change that attitude of yours if you want to get married someday."

"So does that mean we're both staying as old hags?" joked Sakura. Ino rolled her eyes and entered the room. Sakura followed, sliding the door back to its original spot.

"Hey Sakura!" cried out Naruto, waving over to her. She waved back weakly. Sakura froze.

How could someone blind see her…unless Sai had lied to her? Sai always loved playing pranks. She saw that Naruto had quickly whispered something over to Hinata before Ino kicked him out of her chair.

"Was that really necessary?" he muttered.

"And take back your plate," commanded Ino, throwing him a dirty plate. "My plans for Sakura ruined…" She heaved a sad sigh.

"What were you and Hinata talking about?" Sakura asked, not quite looking at him in the eye. Her face aimed towards the wooden table.

"Err…catching up, I guess?" he shrugged. The blonde seemed more interest in the food. "What were you and your friend talking about?"

"What makes you seem to think that she is a friend of mine?" asked Sakura. She gave him a questioningly look that demanded an answer quickly.

"Well…you seemed to act like friends?" shrugged Naruto.

"Yes, guess we are," grunted Sakura. She didn't particularly like revealing that fact in front of Ino, whose ego would probably raise a couple more levels.

"Knew it," laughed Naruto.

Sakura sighed, wiping her mouth with a side of her napkin. "You act like a child so much I wonder if anything happened to that brain of yours."

"My brain's working fine," retorted Naruto.

"I was just joking," said Sakura. "I'm not that mean."

"Sure," said Naruto, "Isn't that what they all say?"

"What are you two talking about?" asked Ino from across the table.

"Nothing that would interest someone like you."

"You accusing me of something?" growled Ino, slamming her hands on the table.

And that was how Ino and Sakura spent the rest of the time arguing while everyone else stuffed themselves with more meat and vegetables.

* * *

They were the first to leave. Everyone else was still eating, but Sakura had an early shift tomorrow morning.

"Your friends are weird," said Naruto, "It'd be awkward to meet them separately."

"You won't," stated Sakura, "That reunion was enough to last me a while."

"What?" exclaimed Naruto, stopping in his walk, "But won't you miss your friends, like…Hinata. She's quiet, but she listens to everything you say. There's also Kiba, who's weird, but okay, I guess." He pointed a finger up in the air, "Oh and then there's…"

Did he really like her friends so much?

"Fine," she interrupted his speech. "We'll go to some of the reunions, but not all."

He smiled brightly, causing Sakura's heart to slightly flutter. It unnerved her, causing the pink-haired girl to remain quiet the whole way. The two of them arrived a few minutes later at Sakura's apartment. "I'm going to sleep," she proclaimed, "It's late."

She disappeared in a matter of moments, leaving Naruto standing by the doorway.

"Night," replied Naruto.

He turned back to the other side of the house and headed for the kitchen. The lights to the kitchen snapped on. Naruto grabbed a soda can from the fridge, sighed, picked up another can, and threw it toward the window.

A hand caught the can.

Naruto decided to speak first. "Yo. Why do you insist on breaking in?"

"Rude and with a sense of humor."

"Annoying with no common sense. Can't you come when it's visiting hours or something?" asked Naruto, rubbing his eyes. "I have to wake up early tomorrow…Sakura's like an alarm clock, only worse."

"You're drinking soda."

"I'm putting it back in the fridge. See," Naruto said. He stared lazily at the shadow perched comfortably on the window.

"Just to remind you of your meeting with the elders in five days."

"Don't you have something better to do? Go lick Danzo's shoes. Don't go around sneaking in people's house."

"Bye." With a smile and wave, the figure disappeared into the night.

* * *

Sakura yawned once. She scratched her arm, yawned again, and rubbed her closed eyes. The sleepy girl grudgingly got out of bed. The clock displayed 5:00 in dark green. She stretched her arms in her standard routine, kicked the blankets off her body, and got up. Sakura changed into her clothes. There was not much to choose from; medics had to wear a specific type of uniform. The morning air was clammy and cold. She opened her windows; it would be good if there were fresh air circulating around her room by tonight. After that, Sakura went to the kitchen and grabbed a few pieces of crackers from the cabinets (it solved today's breakfast). Cracking her knuckles, she walked down the other hallway. This was the hardest task of every morning.

"Naruto, wake up!" she yelled, kicking the door open with a foot. Unfortunately, Naruto's bedroom, more like a closet, was very small. The bed, which was two feet away from the door, would constantly collide with the mattress. She threw a packet of crackers to Naruto's face.

"Breakfast," she declared, "We got around forty-five minutes to reach the hospital and not be late."

"Could you please not give me a heart attack every morning?" scowled Naruto. He jammed a cracker into his mouth and swallowed. "And the rate you're going with the door, I'm going to end up sleeping on the floor in no time." He motioned to the half crushed mattress.

"At least you're not sleeping on the floor."

"Yet," corrected Naruto. He jumped out of bed and ran for the front door.

"Get back here!"

Naruto fumbled around the locks for a moment before crashing into the door, managing to open it at the last second. He rushed out onto the streets, looking back once. That was all he needed to keep his speed. Unfortunately, Sakura caught him within the first few feet.

"I have to go sit at that Sasuke's room again huh?"

"Yes, don't bother me now. I'm already late." Sakura shooed him away with a free hand as she readjusted her nametag.

"See you later t-," said Naruto.

"Yeah, now go already," said Sakura, already moving towards the main desk. She signed in quickly and headed for her room.

The hallways were silent and quiet, the way they were intended to be. Sakura always found it easier to concentrate when there was no noise around.

"Hey, have you heard, about that room?" A nurse whispered to another, passing by.

Sakura frowned. She hated the stupid rumors about the hospital. They were either about the living or dead. She didn't know which ones were worse.

"No, what room?" asked the other.

"The Uchiha Sasuke room's haunted! There's strange scratching noises coming from there!"

"Excuse me, can you two actually work instead of spread false rumors around?" cut in Sakura. The two nurses saw Sakura, apologized quickly, and hurried off into the distance. Her frown deepened as she continued her trail. It was Naruto fooling around and making noises for people to suspect. Give the nurses here a chance to gossip and they'll swarm in like piranhas. She made a quick mental note in her head to complain to Naruto later about his behavior before entering her office.

Kiba and Shino made their occasional visit to the hospital. It only proved the strong bond of team 8. Sakura, with her sharp eyes, had suspected that the two had somehow convinced Hinata to take self-esteem lessons with them in her free time. Even Neji, with his hateful thoughts on the main family, had visited a few times, probably inspecting in curiosity. She kept quiet though; there was no need to get the nurses to talk more.

It was near break when Sakura bumped into the blue-haired heiress.

"Hinata?" Sakura winced inwardly. "Are you okay?"

"I-It's alright," said Hinata. She pulled herself back up. Sakura noticed Hinata was carrying a small orange wrapped gift.

"What's that?" asked Sakura slyly. She patted Hinata on the shoulder, "Good job!"

"W-what?" Hinata asked.

"Who gave you that?" asked Sakura with a slight grin.

"N-No one," answered Hinata, "I-I'm g-giving it to someone." She looked to the left, avoiding Sakura's eyesight, then to the right. "I-I should g-get going then."

"Wait a moment," Sakura grabbed her arm, "Not until you tell me you're giving it too."

Hinata caught Sakura's gaze and quickly turned away, looking to the ground. "I-It's N-Naruto-san. Do you know where he is?"

Sakura let go of the girl's arm, "Oh." She looked to Hinata, "Do you want to come with me? He's at Sasuke's room. It's around lunch break, so it should be okay." Something seemed to tug away at her heart.

"U-Um…w-would I be interrupting anything?"

"No." Sakura was curt in her response.

Hinata nodded and trailed after closely acting as if a creature might attack if she strayed. Her hands clamped around the tiny package with its pretty ribbon and paper. It was obviously wrapped with care, thought Sakura.

"I-I wonder if N-Naruto-kun will like it…" she trailed off. Her fingers trapped on the surface of the present.

"How's it going with your family?" asked Sakura, wanting to change the subject.

Hinata stayed quiet for a moment then finally answered with a "P-Pretty…good." She looked to Sakura shyly, "M-My team and Neji-nii-san's team a-are going to the yearly festival together."

She put a light smile to her face, "It was K-Kiba-kun that asked him for me…"

"That's great!" Sakura punched Hinata lightly in the arm. "That Neji's finally lightening up for once."

"Yeah, he is," Hinata nodded, rubbing her arm a bit. "Um…is Naruto-kun going with you, Sakura-san?" Sakura noticed that her voice was a tad softer.

"I don't think he even knows about it," admitted Sakura. She added quickly, "But I'll ask him to go; the idiot's has to follow me-I mean he probably has nothing to do anyways." Sakura cursed herself for almost revealing her mission.

The lights crackled. They were on the second floor. One day, Sakura would manage to convince both the council and the Hokage to replace these lights. Hinata continued to follow Sakura silently behind her, vaguely reminding Sakura of how a ghost would glide. She figured Hinata would excel in being a spy instead of working as a medic if it weren't for her peaceful nature.

"We're here," declared Sakura. She knocked on the door once before opening. Loud snoring enveloped the room. Naruto remained curled up leaning next to the chair's leg, rather messily.

"Here," Hinata handed the box to Sakura, "C-Can you give it to him when he's awake?"

"Okay," agreed Sakura after a while. Hinata left hastily, leaving no trace of her presence.

"That girl is too shy for her own good…" sighed Sakura, looking at the package. She shook it a bit, out of curiosity. It made a rattling sound. "What could it be…?" Sakura set it on the desk next to the bed. Her eyes glanced towards Naruto. Even she wasn't cruel enough to wake someone up from their slumber.

She sneezed.

"He forgot to close the window…" she sighed. Swiftly, Sakura made her way across the room and locked the windows. A soft shuffle came from Sasuke's bed. Sakura froze. Did Naruto plan one of his jokes again? She walked over to the bed.

A pair of onyx eyes, barely open, stared into her eyes.

"S-Sa…"

She froze.

---


	8. Before they meet

**Disclaimer**: I do not own Naruto nor will I ever.

**Summary**: "Haruno Sakura, you have been ordered to guard the prisoner Uzumaki Naruto." After a strict order from the Hokage, Sakura has been forced to conquer her greatest fear—the rumored beast of Konoha. The tragedy is slowly revealed, piece-by-piece.

**Pairing: **Naruto X Sakura

**Beta-Reader**: Haishiro

**AN: Editted as of March 27, 2009  
**

* * *

**Broken Leaf**

_08. Before They Meet_

_---_

It was as if Sakura's heart slammed to the wall and fell.

"Sa…Sa…" His voice sounded like glass almost, fragile and weak.

She bit her lower lip, her mind floating away; it had been a recent habit. She pinched her hand, telling herself it would be a bad time.

"You're back," she smiled. His hand felt warm.

_"Sakura."_

* * *

Three days passed by before all hell broke loose.

"You wanna go at it!" Naruto shook a bold fist.

"Hn, get out of my room already."

"I'm bored."

"Leave me alone."

"Uchiha, there's nothing to do!"

"Who are you?"

The blond stopped at a mid-sentence and closed his mouth.

The boy squinted, "I swear I told you my names a lot of times already…" He looked back at Sasuke, smirking, "What, you got a memory problem or something?"

Sasuke scowled. "I know your name, but who are you in terms of rank? I've never seen you…" The boy was beyond strange. His skin was too pale, his eyes a bit too clouded.

"Who are you in terms of rank?" asked Naruto, mimicking his question. He flapped his makeshift wings like a parrot.

"Answer my question."

"Nah." Naruto squinted. "I don't like you. You look mean." Then he turned back to himself, "Hehe, can't believe Hinata gave me three free Ichiraku ramen coupons!"

A cough. "Hn."

Naruto stared back skeptically, "Was that your attempt at a laugh?"

"Look, Sakura put you in here with me. I appreciate it if I knew whether you're a comrade—or someone who would kill me in my sleep."

"Would have killed you already if I wanted to since I was here long ago," Naruto eyed him, "You really should get that brain of yours checked."

If looks could kill, Naruto would have dropped dead ages ago.

"Whatever." Sasuke pulled his head down under the covers and turned towards the window.

"Sleeping already, Sasuke?"

"Tell me when Sakura's here."

"Fine," Naruto sighed, "Can't you talk more at least? It's going to get boring again."

Sasuke didn't reply.

"Come on!" Naruto insisted, "You can even make fun of me." When Sasuke didn't reply in the next few minutes, Naruto stopped.

The blond shuffled around the floor. "Two more days…" The words were barely audible.

_Two more days until the meeting…_

Sasuke opened his eyes.

"What?"

"Thought you weren't talking to me," pointed out Naruto, a faint smirk visible.

"I never said that," Sasuke fluffed out his pillow and sat on it, "What's this about two days?"

"For a person with your attitude, you're awfully curious…"

"You owe me for painting paint all over my face."

"Well if it gets you talking…" Naruto stared at Sasuke for a few more moments as if deciding whether he was trustworthy or not, "Just don't tell Sakura-chan, okay?"

"Fine."

"I'm going to run down naked and scream 'Ramen Day' on that day," smiled Naruto, "Wanna come?"

"Whatever." Sasuke wasn't going to ask if he was going to end up with lies. Sasuke crossed his legs and stared up at the ceiling.

"Hey, hey, hey, Sakura said that you can get of the hospital in five days, right?"

Oh great. The. Noise. Was. Back. **Already.**

"Let's go to Ichiraku's to celebrate! Sure you'll love it, ha!" Naruto swung a fist upwards.

Sasuke glowered, "You're telling a patient to eat _ramen_ after they've been in a coma? What kind of doctor are you?"

"Whoa, that's the longest sentence you've said to me!" Naruto pointed a finger at his head and laughed, clutching his stomach and falling flat on his back, "And I'm not a medic."

His eyes flashed red, "You're not a medic. That's it. I'm talking to the wall." He stared up and began counting how many cracks were in there.

_Come back soon Sakura…_

The annoying voice wouldn't stop. "Are you bored? I'm still bored."

Sasuke twitched his eyebrow.

* * *

Sakura placed the finished antidote into her kit. It was going to be used for her guest presentation at the Academy. She managed to convince some of the kids there to sign up for a medic course. If all went well—

"S-Sakura," Hinata rushed in. Her skin was paler than normal, if that was possible. Even with all her stuttering, it was rare to see her in full panic mode.

"W-What's wrong?" Sakura stood up a little too quickly, knocking a vat of water from the table. It swung around and began its descent.

She turned back and grabbed the handles just when the vat was inches away from the floor.

"Well?" she asked, panting huge breaths.

"It's Sasuke and Naruto, they—"

"Naruto again," Sakura growled, forming a fist to her face, "What did he do?"

"Well…they're…gone…"

"…What?!"

* * *

"Sasuke, you sure this is a good idea?" asked Naruto, looking around the busy corridor, "Sakura will beat me-us to death if she finds out."

"You said you're were bored and I need to try something out."

"Alright," said Naruto, "but I'm coming just to make sure you don't collapse or anything."

Sasuke studied the blond carefully.

"Did…you just-never mind," Sasuke shook his head.

They exchanged glances once more and silently dashed down the hallway. If Sakura found them, they wouldn't make it out undamaged.

Naruto made sure to stick to the wall. Of course, wearing orange and trying to blend into a white wall—

Sasuke hovered near, "Come."

Naruto mouthed an okay and followed after Sasuke. They turned a corner and ascended a couple of stairs. Naruto glanced briefly at a clock. There was still time before Sakura would be bringing in lunch. He would make sure to return in time and…he shrugged. Sakura would be angry if Sasuke didn't come back so he figured would drag the black haired boy back, no matter how weird he was.

His thoughts were cut short when they came across a dark hallway. There was lighting, but it looked like it heavily needed repair.

"Dead end?" He stared onwards, looking for a light source. The Uchiha merely grunted and turned a handle from somewhere.

They arrived on top of the hospital. The sun glared down heavily upon the two. Naruto closed his eyes, seeing colors swirl around like a whirlpool. He was losing his vision again. He tried rubbing his eye. It didn't do any good except add to the damage. Sasuke turned into a huge blob of black and blue. Strange…he resembled a fan, oddly.

"Stop rubbing your eyes," snapped Sasuke, "I need to test my skills."

Naruto lifted an eyebrow, still scratching his eyes, "And this has to do with me…how?"

"You said you were bored," smirked Sasuke, "Unless you're scared."

"Who'd be afraid of someone like you, chicken butt!" Naruto frowned, cracking his fist in protest.

"We'll see," said Sasuke simply. He was never a fan of provoking someone else. It was childish.

A fist flew towards his face. It was too straightforward and simpleminded. Sasuke stepped back, catching a blur of orange. He slid to the right and kicked upwards, towards the orange. He felt something; Naruto had blocked with his arm.

He felt his leg crack, just a bit.

_Must be because of the coma._

He closed his eyes quickly and activated the Sharingan. Instantly, he could feel another level of pressure added. It could be ignored, for now. Sasuke turned to a sound at the left. It was Naruto with his eyes closed; did he know about the Sharingan? His pose was completely…calm. He froze. There was another two more blonds standing next to him. No! The world did not need more of…them! Did he finally grow insane? No…no…they were just clones. Zipping towards his destination, he performed a couple of fast seals.

_"Katon: Gōkakyū no Jutsu!"_ The familiar flames licked warmly at the air. The fire landed on one of the Naruto's bottom. It disappeared in white smoke to his displeasure. One of the remaining Naruto winced. Another Naruto went toward him with a kunai ready. He skidded to a stop. The kunai flying towards him was as accurate as Chouji heading to barbeque. Sasuke slammed to the right and leaned down. The kunai graze his shoulder and fell uselessly to the ground.

Naruto's eyes widened. His remaining clone vanished as he gaped like an idiot.

"Ah…that scent…" He froze.

"What do you think you two are doing?!"

Somehow the blond managed to close his mouth, point towards him, and shout, "It was his idea Sakura-chan!"

He turned back saw Sakura in one of her raging modes.

"I was testing my skills," he shrugged, tucking his hands back into his pockets. That was when he remembered he wasn't wearing his old uniform.

"Yeah, yeah, Sakura it was all _his _idea. Not mine," he heard the blond say. Figures the guy was not going to take the blame.

Sakura breathed in deeply and blew out loudly. Her hands went up to her hair. She closed her eyes for a few seconds before opening them, then smiled, like a little kid who had just been given candy.

"I have the perfect plan for you two," she chirped. Heck, she even added a few giggles for the hell of it.

* * *

"Hey Sasuke!"

"I know, you're _bored_," he snarled. "I know you're _bored_."

"No, I'm hungry," said Naruto. "You didn't have to repeat yourself. I heard you the first time."

Sasuke sighed. He was pretty certain this guy only acted like this at certain times, like when he was near him. He was sure of it.

"Oh great, I'm itchy but I can't reach it!" whined Naruto, glaring at the ropes tied around his body. Perhaps his feeble mind thought he could destroy the rope with his eyes.

Sasuke rolled his eyes and tried to get up. He didn't get far, with ropes binding him to a mattress. Plus, the kunai managed to go in a bit more than skin deep. Sakura had refused to heal it, saying it was his fault in the first place.

"This sucks! Sakura might have brought ramen today…" sighed Naruto.

"Hey, Naruto," called out Sasuke, completely ignoring his previous statements, "Why did you have your eyes closed today?"

"The sun was shooting needles into my eyes?" Naruto fidgeted around the ropes, "I started seeing different colors. You were a huge blob of black and blue, like a fan almost."

"You know that's not normal, right?" Sasuke sighed. He didn't even know why was going to suggest something to Naruto. "Try asking Sakura. She's a good medic—"

The door slammed open and crashed into the wall.

"I-I trust you two have learned your lesson?" Her voice quavered. Sasuke glanced at the changes on her face. There was this watery look in her eyes, which looked close to becoming ice. Her hands were held to her side, clenching so tightly her knuckles had gone white. There was almost a faint smell of blood coming from her. Something obviously happened to her while they were stuck tied in a stupid room.

He kept quiet. She would deal it with it herself like any shinobi.

"Yes! Yes! Now lemme go!" Naruto jumped up in his chair. It followed him up in the air.

"Stop that or face the consequences," warned Sakura, eyes drifting half-closed, "Your bodies will fit neatly under that bed and no one will ever find you." She took a deep breath.

Naruto blinked. Sasuke rolled his eyes. Who would be stupid enough to believe that?

"Hehe, you won't do that to us!" Naruto looked up with what Sasuke thought was uncertainly, "Right?"

Sakura nod's was as slow as an ant's crawl.

Was Naruto trying to make her laugh? It wasn't working if he was.

"Not to interrupt…but can you untie me-us?" asked Sasuke. The rope was digging into his skin.

"Hmm…" Sakura walked over to Naruto and cut the ropes, "Chakra based rope that you'll never get out on your own? Nope."

"You untied that idiot."

Sakura frowned, "If he was such an idiot, don't sneak him out to the roof to have a sparring match."

"Anyways, you know the drill," she said, "My work's over. We're going and I'm not about to let a crazy suicidal maniac loose in the hospital at night."

Naruto smirked and winked to Sasuke.

He watched his only chance of going free walked away as the door slammed shut.

It was going to be a long night.

At least he was left alone without Naruto _finally_.

* * *

"So…is the festival still on?" asked Naruto. "I also have to tell Hinata thanks for those coupons."

"Coupons?" Sakura looked bemused.

"Ramen!"

"Right, right," nodded Sakura. "This is a festival for the Chuunin exams so it's supposedly used to get to know other ninja from other villages."

"Eh?"

Sakura pushed him forward, "Let's go then!"

Naruto noticed that the surroundings hadn't really changed except with the occasional ninja from another country.

At Naruto's request, which he asked over and over, they went over to Ichiraku's. There was only one seat open so they proceeded with rock-paper-scissors.

Sakura won.

"It's only fair since you chose the place anyway," she said after swallowing a mouthful of noodles.

Naruto responded by saying that he didn't need to sit on a chair to enjoy ramen. The ground and chair made no difference as the ramen's quality stayed the same—Sakura rolled her eyes at this.

They went over to another place—Sakura's choice—and got dessert. Both got ice cream and things were going pretty well until Naruto got a brain freeze.

"Told you not to eat too fast," scolded Sakura. "You okay?"

"Y-Yeah," Naruto rubbed his forehead. "That tasted good, almost as good as ramen!"

Sakura merely nodded.

They continued down the road until they met Ino and Chouji. For some odd reason, Shikamaru couldn't make it. Ino mentioned something about a mission but she didn't specify. Before they could talk any longer, Chouji pulled Ino to a restaurant.

Naruto commented that Chouji would make a valuable comrade for Ramen Day, earning a smack on the head.

Not long after, they clashed with Hinata's group. Apparently, they had been looking for them as well.

"Hey!" greeted Sakura.

"Hey, Sakura! Are you guys coming to the park as well?" asked Tenten.

Sakura searched around her brain for a while until she realized why Tenten had said that. There was supposed to be another reunion during the festival.

She took a quick glance at Naruto. He was still his excited self, if not more, and she did promise to attend more reunions.

"Yeah," she nodded. "We'll go later."

"See you there then!" said Kiba. The rest of the group followed afterwards.

"Gah, I forgot to thank Hinata!"

"You were just talking to her a minute ago?" frowned Sakura.

"Well…I forgot," said Naruto. "Oh yeah, I forgot this too." He fished around his pockets, revealing a flower.

"Here! It's dried up," he said, handing her the flower. "Since you work all the time and you have to watch after me, you probably don't have a lot of free time…"

Sakura took the flower delicately and twirled it around with her fingers, "Thanks."

Naruto grinned, "Glad you like it!"

She laughed.

"Let's go to the park. They're waiting," she said, tugging him along.

"Y-Y-Yeah."

She felt the blond nod frantically behind her. The corners of her mouth twitched just ever so slightly.

Surprisingly, for once, Naruto stayed quiet. At first he didn't talk much when they first met, but he gradually started talking more and more. Strangely, Sakura didn't mind. In fact, she found herself talking more than she would have. There weren't a lot of people she could talk to except for the nurses at the hospital. Occasionally she would visit her parents and they would talk, but that was it.

She glanced back at Naruto and quickly looked back. The park appeared in view. The whole group was gathered around in an area of the park.

"N-Naruto-kun!" Hinata walked forward to greet them.

Sakura released her grip on Naruto's hand. "I'll go see how Ino's doing."

"O-Okay," said Naruto.

"Okay." She took back one glance at Naruto and Hinata before walking over to Ino. Chouji had left Ino to talk with Kiba and Shino.

"Hey," she took one more glance at Naruto and Hinata. Hinata was moving her mouth slowly and tapping her fingers. "What are you up to?"

"Missions and more missions?" Ino shrugged. "Sakura?"

"Yeah, I heard. The usual, huh?"

"Why do you keep staring at that direction?" She turned over. Sakura's friend was talking to Hinata, rather loudly.

Ino put on a smug look, "I see. Our little Sakura is jealous."

"I can look anywhere I want. It's a free world."

Ino smirked, "Sure, whatever you say." She widened her eyes, "Wow, I can't believe they're doing that!"

"What?" Sakura shifted her eyes to the scene. Hinata and Naruto were only talking. "Why would it matter?"

Ino flipped her hair, "Nothing, nothing."

Sakura looked at her darkly, "Usually your nothings mean something. Wait. Scratch that. Your nothings always mean something."

Ino crossed her arms, "Why would you think that?" She leaned closer to Sakura, "Better make sure he doesn't fall under Hinata's spell. She's known to have quite a couple of fans…" She moved her eyes over to Kiba and Shino.

"They just think of her as a sister."

Ino shrugged, "Whatever, it's not my problem anyways." She gave a venom smile.

Ino had a special talent to be annoying, but she wouldn't fight back. Not after today. It was her fault that it happened. If only she had arrived earlier to that patient… Tsunade taught her to be a bit more self-forgiving, but that didn't mean she would be guilt free.

She took a quick look around the park. It was pitch dark save for the lanterns that hung from strings. From her view, the pathway had a mystic view to it. It would be nice to walk around after dark.

She snuck a glance at Naruto. He was drifting away, his eyes staring in the distance. Then he was himself again, laughing and scratching his head.

"Just go back already," Ino's eyes twinkled. A moment later she grabbed Sakura's shoulders and threw her with such force she nearly flew.

She landed next to Hinata, almost on her knees. Sakura felt her ears turn bloody red. What was Ino trying to do?

"Ino, why'd you push me?" she shouted, gritting her teeth.

"Sorry dear, my hand slipped," said Ino, waving her hand. Sakura could only stare.

"A-Are you okay?" asked Hinata. Her eyes turned away almost instantly.

Sakura brushed the invisible specks of dust off her clothes, "Yes."

Naruto shot her a worried look, "Are you sure? Your face is all pale."

Sakura brushed off his comment, "I'm fine." Her eyes crawled over to Hinata once more as an uneasy smile came to her.

"You would too if someone pushed you halfway across a park…"

"True."

Her eyes blinked. Who just said that? It wasn't Hinata or Naruto. Sakura shrugged. She was tired so it was natural to hear things.

"Hey, come with me!" Naruto grabbed her hand, taking one last look at Hinata, "Thanks for the advice!"

Sakura saw the shy girl nod and attempt a wave.

"Where are you taking me?" Sakura tried to tail him, the best she could do. She found it hard with Naruto pulling one of her hands.

Out of the corners of his eye, he gave a somewhat reassuring stare, "Someplace cool to cheer you up!"

"So he knew…"

He charged through the streets, occasionally turning at corners and scooting away from innocent people. Sakura came close to falling when she stumbled on a rock and found it impossible to balance herself with one arm. For once she was glad that Naruto didn't let go, even if he was the reason she almost fell face first.

The surroundings slowly grew darker, with less people roaming around.

"Are we there yet?"

"Almost…I think!"

"I think," Sakura sighed. "I hope for your sake it's near." The temperature was dropping and she found that she missed her warm house terribly.

Blurs floated around her vision. She couldn't find the strength to concentrate much longer. When Tsunade gave her lessons, she always expected for Sakura to appear early so she always preferred to sleep early. It became a habit that wouldn't go away.

"I'm tired…"

The sounds around her became distant and unfamiliar. She caught a faint "We're here!" before closing her eyes and slumping forward into the darkness…

* * *

Shikamaru fidgeted, pushing an irritating branch away. His legs were being to grow numb from sitting in the same position.

He hated missions where you had to follow someone. Eating was rare, as you had to follow the person most of the time. He only slept when he felt it was necessary. It was to ensure that he didn't lose the target.

Something was still stabbing him. The folder, he had left it during the interference with that blond. He was sure that Sakura's friend had it. Retrieving it would be fine, if he knew where it was. For all he knew, it could be in the trash or burned away.

Once again, he had to thank himself he actually read the packet for once before starting the mission. Contrary to what others say, he wasn't lazy all the time…just when he felt like it.

He sighed; shaking his head when Ino pushed Sakura halfway towards the park. The girl lost a patient today. (He knew because he was there.) The least Ino could do is to show some consideration, but knowing Sakura she kept quiet.

He checked his target again, hiding in a dark corner.

"_How great,"_ he thought. The person he was following was following someone else.

It was times like these he liked to imagine what life would be if he hadn't become a ninja. There would be fewer worries about his life being endangered. He leaned against a particularly thick branch. Then again, life wasn't all that bad. Despite what others thought of his team, they worked well together, most of the time.

"He's on the move again."

Shikamaru slapped himself awake and trailed after.

* * *

Sakura yawned and curled up in her blankets. She scratched the back of her head and sat up. Like usual, she got out of bed and stretched. It was odd for her to wake up this early considering Tsunade had insisted she stay home today—to attend the Chuunin exams. Honestly, she really didn't want to see pointless fighting. Of course, Naruto might be interested and she would end up being dragged to watch it.

Sakura stiffened.

Where was Naruto?

She ran over to his room and slammed it open.

"Not here."

Sakura sank to the floor and leaned on the wall. She remembered Naruto dragging her to who-knows-where and falling asleep. It wouldn't make sense that she was back here.

She furrowed her brow and tapped her fingernails on the wooden floor. What if they thought Naruto was trying to escape and had knocked her out? She pulled a strand of her hair.

"Knew I shouldn't have agreed to those stupid reunions!" She jammed a fist to the wall only remembering it would knock the house down if she did.

She bolted up, feeling the world spin for a moment and started for her room when the door unlocked itself.

Could doors unlock themselves?

The door opened with a soft click and she could hear plastic bags.

"Up already?" A familiar head poked through the door.

Her arms sagged. She was sure she did not need these moments.

"Tell me next time—on second thought, just take me along if you want to buy something okay?" She massaged her forehead, "I'm going to die early with anymore of these surprises."

"Sorry," he squirmed and held out the bags, "You were still sleep so I figured I buy breakfast."

She took the bags and sniffed it carefully, "Ramen? You bought ramen for breakfast?"

"Yeah…why?"

"Never mind. I shouldn't have asked."

Suddenly he sprang up, "Oh yeah! The old—what did she want me to call her again? _Tsunade-sama_ wanted me to tell you that I'm going to be at the Hokage Tower the whole day tomorrow. She doesn't know how long I'll be gone…but she'll call you, I think."

"What for?" Sakura cracked open the lid. Steam flew to her face before she could pull away. She would have to wash off the oil later.

Naruto shrugged, "She didn't say."

"How long did you know this?" she asked accusingly while fishing for a pair of chopsticks. Sakura looked up, "Where's your ramen?"

"Ate it," he grinned. "And it's today, Granny said she forgot about it."

"That's near impossible, you see her almost everyday at the hospital."

"Yeah…" His cast his eyes towards the wall in concentration, "Must have no life if all she does is spend her time at her office and the hospital."

"Excuse me?" Sakura placed her half-empty container on the table, "I spend my time at my office and hospital. Does that mean I have no life?"

Slowly, he backed up and placed his hands up in defense, "O-Oh, but I didn't mean you, Sakura!"

Her eyes narrowed, "That's better." She stuffed herself with a mouthful of ramen.

"What happened yesterday?" Sakura sat down and waited for an answer.

Naruto shrugged, "You muttered something about being tired and fell asleep. I took you to the hospital, but they told me you just needed rest."

Sakura laughed, "You don't need to go to the hospital for everything."

"I'm not a medic," he grumbled. "So…sources have told me you were free today from the hospital?"

"Tsunade-sama told you that right?"

She received a nod.

Grudgingly, she nodded. "I have a day off."

"Yes!"

She sighed at the expected reaction.

"But, we could always visit Sasuke if you want," he added quickly.

Sakura shook her head, "I'm sure he can survive…I'm sure Hinata untied the ropes before we left yesterday. I told her to."

"So, where are we going?"

"Interesting place where ninjas try and kill each other to become Chuunin."

"Sure?"

**AN**: Next chapter will be a bit more Sakura centered with Naruto away


	9. Unease

**Disclaimer**: I do not own Naruto nor will I ever.

**Summary**: "Haruno Sakura, you have been ordered to guard the prisoner Uzumaki Naruto." After a strict order from the Hokage, Sakura has been forced to conquer her greatest fear—the rumored beast of Konoha. The tragedy is slowly revealed, piece-by-piece.

**Pairing: **Naruto X Sakura

**AN: Sorry for the long wait, at least I updated at/near New Years! It's unbeted.**

**Edited as of March 25, 2009  
**

**Broken Leaf**

_09. Unease_

* * *

"See you later Sakura." was the last she heard of him. Then he disappeared into wooden doors during the night.

"Well, I finally have a free day today." She stretched her arms and stepped out into the village.

She snorted. Finally, there would be peace and quiet. While she liked the company of the blond, it was important that she have some time alone. It seemed impossible lately.

"Right, this is my day to relax!" She decided to visit Sasuke. She loved seeing him in his cranky state and no doubt he would be in one while he was still at the hospital. To her relief, her teammate had not attempted an escape and was sitting carefully on top of the bed.

"Where is he?" He shifted his eyes over carefully. His hands were crossed over his mouth like usual.

"Where's…who? Naruto?"

Sasuke nodded. He appeared to be mentally bracing himself for the worse.

"He's not coming today," she answered.

Sasuke cleared his throat, "Where is he then?"

"With the Hokage."

"The Hokage?" he asked, his voice filled with curiosity. "Who is he?"

Sakura walked over, "An idiot. Anyways, how are you? Feel any pain? Fever?"

"No," he shook his head, "When can I go?"

Sakura look up at the ceiling, "Well…you are sure you aren't feeling any pain?"

"Yes," he said wearily. "There's nothing to do here."

Sakura sighed. There was something wrong with the ninjas here. They all wanted to get out of the hospital earlier, even if they were injured. Idiots. Because they weren't fully healed, they end up at the hospital and leave her to clean up the mess. Sasuke could probably go back today, but she added a few more days. It was just in case. He was her teammate after.

"You're sure?" she asked, confirming it one last time.

"Yes."

She sighed after seeing the "look" on him. The "look" as the nurses commonly called it was when ninjas would get this look on their face that would tell the nurses that they would be leaving the hospital, regardless the hospital's permission.

"Fine," she gave him a sour look, "I expect you to come back daily for checkups."

He appeared to be about to protest but instead said, "Whatever."

Sakura whacked him, "Don't 'whatever' me." He didn't say anything. Typical. "Where are you going to stay at anyways? There's probably a lot of dust over at your place…"

"…" he looked at him.

She raised an eyebrow, "What? I don't have time to clean. Being a medic takes away your time you know?"

"Where's Kakashi and Sai?"

"Why don't you stay at my place—what?"

"Where's Kakashi and Sai?" he repeated.

"I…don't know. Team seven disbanded shortly after you were…in your coma," she confessed, looking away from Sasuke.

"I see. So I'll stay at your place then."

"Sure, but you'll have to stay at the living room. Naruto took the last closet—room," she said, grateful that Sasuke had stopped asking questions. It wasn't at easy topic for her to talk about, even with Sasuke.

Sasuke froze, "That guy's living at your place?"

"Yeah…his house's being remodeled!" Truthfully, she didn't even know if he had a house or not. "So it's not like I like him or anything."

"I see," said Sasuke. He got up, "Let's go."

Sakura blinked, "Huh?"

"To your house," he said in a chiding voice.

"But, don't you have to pack?" asked Sakura.

Sasuke lifted at eyebrow, "I was unconscious when I got here. Do you think I packed? I have nothing here."

"But I can't leave the hospital right now. I think they've decided to take away my day off," she argued. She sighed inwardly. Sasuke was the same as ever.

He looked away, "I…suppose…I could wait."

Sakura rubbed his hair, "There's a good boy."

"Do you want me to change my mind?" he unruffled his hair.

Sakura let go immediately, "Enjoy your stay." She was gone before he could reply.

"People these days," he frowned, which unknown by him was also said by Sakura just now.

"People these days," she frowned, "no manners whatsoever!" The pink haired girl huffed before turning the corner. "At least I don't have to worry about Naruto running loose around the hospital today…"

Pretty soon she was up and running with no time for thoughts. Hinata had it the worse. By break time at noon, the poor girl was already sleeping on the guest sofa in the lobby. Now that the Chuunin exams had ended, many ninjas were sent to the hospital for check-ups and injuries.

"I should have showed Sasuke my living room…" sighed Sakura, "that could have been an excuse."

Hinata nodded barely and moved her head into a more comfortable spot on the couch.

"Are you even listening Hinata?" asked Sakura, who was eating the hospital ramen. Sure it wasn't healthy, but she didn't have the energy to buy food somewhere else.

Hinata nodded again and yawned. She rubbed the tears out of her eyes, "Are you going to go talk to Naruto-kun?"

Sakura fidgeted, "He's not here today."

Hinata's eyes were a bit clearer now, "R-Really? How come?"

"Um…you know him! He can't stay too long in one place before he wrecks havoc on it."

Hinata nodded, as if agreeing though she did not seem convinced. She groaned, "O-Only thirty more minutes…"

Sakura looked at the clock and nearly fell down, "Oh my god, I want to sleep so badly." She looked outside. It wasn't even near the time when it was time to go home. Her head kept telling her to close her eyes.

"Hang it there, self!" She nodded, "I'll go home and take a nice long bubble bath!" Her eyes wandered over to the Hokage Tower. How was Naruto doing? Was he offending anybody? She scoffed, knowing well enough how Naruto thought of the elders.

Soft snoring broke through her thoughts. Hinata was well on her way to dream land. She was curled up in a ball on the sofa, sleeping peacefully against all that loud noise.

"I wish I could sleep," yawned Sakura, leaning against the wall. "I'm so sleepy yet…I keep seeing more havoc when I close my eyes!" Taking her chopsticks, she finished the last of her ramen and threw it in the garbage. "At least work will kill the fat I ate in that ramen…"

"Sakura, we have an emergency!"

Sakura sighed, twitching her eye, "Even my break is shortened now…"

Taking one last glance at the window, she grabbed her gloves and raced to the room, "What happened?"

"Ninja wounded on a mission with punctured lungs and wounded arms. Here are the details."

Sakura nodded, "We should operate quickly." She raced to the table to put on her mask and nearly dropped it.

"Sai?"

* * *

The ceiling dripped another drop of water. Sasuke looked outside to the stormy grey clouds. As a drip fell towards him, he caught it with his fist. His scowl grew when two more drops fell onto his hair. He looked up the ceiling and for the first time realized how many cracks there were.

"Sasuke, stop looking at the ceiling and get ready."

"Back already, Sakura?" he asked. She looked a bit tired though. Her eyes sagged a little and her movements were sloppy.

"Yeah, you would never guess who I saw today, Sasuke-kun."

He avoided a few more drops, "Who?"

"Sai," she answered. "He was wounded."

Two drops fell onto Sasuke, "What happened?"

She walked up to him, "I don't know…a bunch of our shinobi found him wounded just outside the gates of Konoha. He's currently sleeping in the hospital. We don't know when he might wake, but it should be soon."

"I see."

"I see?" Sakura asked, "Aren't you the least bit worried?"

Sasuke didn't move, "He'll be okay. Stop worrying."

"I'm not worrying about Sai." In fact, what was he doing injured in the first place? He was the bad guy here; she was sure of it.

"Let's go then."

"It's just…he's part of our team," lied Sakura.

Sasuke looked at her, "What do you plan to do then?"

"Wait until tomorrow I guess," said Sakura after a while, "Do we need to go to the Uchiha household for stuff?"

Sasuke merely nodded. "What about Naruto?"

Sakura bit her lip, "I don't know. He said he'll be back and that Tsunade will tell me, but I didn't hear from either of them the whole day."

Sasuke nodded his head, "Let's go."

"Okay," Sakura smiled tiredly and exited the hospital with Sasuke. Hinata, for some reason, shied away from Sasuke. She did congratulate him on exiting the hospital though.

The Hokage Tower was well lit after dark, as Sasuke observed. Sakura wondered how Naruto was doing for what seemed like the hundredth time today. It was so different without Naruto somehow. It was like a piece of her life gone and it just didn't feel right. Of course, it was much quieter and peaceful, but it was very…lonely. Perhaps she was missing him, but she wasn't about it admit it.

"We're here," announced Sasuke, breaking Sakura's thoughts away. She nodded, saying she'd wait outside. He just shrugged and walked it. The place was full of cobwebs and dust. It was hard to imagine that there used to be a clan living there. It was so dark that even Sakura was a bit intimidated. When Sasuke didn't come back after a length of time, Sakura decided to go in after him.

The wooden gate creaked open noisily and echoed through the entire household. Her fingers trailed across the wooden surface. She caught a handful of dust.

"I wonder if Naruto's apartment is like this…" she muttered softly under her breath. There was a shuffle.

"Sasuke?" she called out, uncertain. There was no response or any further noise. "Sasuke?" she tried again.

"What?" His voice was right behind her.

Her head turned so she could see him. Sasuke was holding onto a knapsack around the size of a small basket. "Ready?"

She could see him nod lightly.

"Do you still live—"

"No," she pointed east, "I'm renting one of the apartments somewhat near the hospitals. It makes it more convenient for work."

If Sasuke wanted to ask more questions, he didn't, choosing only to nod.

They began walking back to her apartment. When they passed by Ichiraku's, Sakura decided to stop.

"Can you wait for a moment, Sasuke-kun? I want to buy some ramen for Naruto," she said, "He'll probably want some. Do you? I'm sure they have take-out."

Sasuke nodded hesitantly, taking a good look at the ramen and poking it with chopsticks. Sakura slapped his hand away, telling him not to mess with the food.

"Why did you buy eight bowls?" asked Sasuke, speaking his mind for once.

"Naruto, he eats a lot," said Sakura, empathizing the word 'lot'.

Sasuke nodded again and followed her. Somehow, it felt to Sakura like she was talking to a wall. At least with Naruto, he was always listening and always commenting. Sasuke quickly grew accustomed with her living room, claiming the sofa as his bed. After eating his portion of ramen, he decided to go to train.

"You can't train yet!" she protested. "Or, do you want to go back to the hospital?" she threatened.

He didn't seem happy, but he stayed put.

Her eyes strayed to the clock as she sat at the dining table with her bowl of ramen. It was getting late yet Naruto wasn't back yet. A few times she caught Sasuke looking at her from the sofa. It wasn't like she was waiting for such a long time. Just a little bit more and she'll go to sleep.

The ramen was long cold. Even the oil had formed a layer over the top, becoming white. Her eyes closed eventually and she went to sleep with an empty stomach.

* * *

Sakura's self-alarm woke her up early in the morning. The first thing she smelled was the oily smell of freshly cooked ramen.

"Time to eat!" said a noisy voice.

She opened her eyes. The tables remained untouched along with the ramen.

"A dream…" she whispered. The bowl was already bad. She took it along with the rest and dumped it down the sink and garbage.

Sasuke had left a note saying he went out to train. She would have to punish him for that, she guessed.

Still, one question bugged her. What could possibly take Naruto so long? Grabbing her weapon pouch and gloves, she headed towards the Hokage Tower. She stayed close to the walls, watching the guards stroll around the bottom ground. She had never taken the time to find out their routine and now she regretted it. After wasting too much time, she decided to walk up casually. She was the Hokage's apprentice after all. What could they do to her?

"Going to see the Hokage?" asked one of the guards.

"Yes," answered Sakura as normally as she could. They merely parted away without giving her much trouble. She frowned, slightly scolding herself for being over-cautious.

On the top of the stairs, she met a friend.

"Sakura, what brings you here?" asked the ever-lazy Shikamaru.

"Here to see the Hokage, what about you?" she asked in return towards the half-asleep ninja, "And, you look really worn out."

"Troublesome, I should be glad I'm not dead with the Hokage's troublesome orders," he yawned. "My mission ended today so I'm merely reporting to the Hokage."

"I see," she nodded and proceeded to walk up, but Shikamaru spoke up.

"So, what are you really here for?"

"To see the Hokage," she repeated. "Why are you asking?"

"No reason," he walked down the stairs, "Go ahead. It's not like I'm the type of person to stop you."

Sakura lifted ay eyebrow. Shikamaru was definitely a weird person even if he's a genius. Then again, most geniuses were quite bizarre. As she approached the door, she listened for any type of sounds first. There were none. Being so, she brought up her fist and knocked on the door.

"Come in!"

Sakura opened a small creak.

"Open it up the whole way or leave!"

"Good morning, teacher," she walked in, closing the door behind her. Taking a quick look, she found only her teacher there.

"Naruto's already gone if you're asking."

"Really?" she blurted, "I mean, I see."

Tsunade took another swig from her sake, "Do you? If so, leave already."

"Wait," Sakura raised one of her hands, "Can you tell me…what happened yesterday?"

Tsunade placed down her sake on the table, "No." Her eyes were firm and unchanging. She pushed the bottle with her index finger, "If you're really that curious…go ask Naruto."

"But Tsunade-sama—"

"I said don't ask me!"

"Yes!" she chirped out and quickly raced towards the exit. Tsunade still had an effect on her after all these years. Regardless, Tsunade was a good teacher and mentor. Out on the streets, her mind was already off thinking of the places Naruto could have gone. There weren't much when she started counting off with her fingers.

She snapped her fingers, "Ichiraku's!"

Turns out, the ramen stand was empty. There was not even a single customer this early. Noticing the time, she rushed back home to change into her uniform. She did take her time to look around though Naruto wasn't in her apartment at all. If she noticed, she would have found a bit of the food supply missing and perhaps tears shed over the thrown away ramen.

Sensing that she was still minutes early and she really didn't want to see Sai again, she took her time walking.

"I'll ask Sasuke to help me look later," she declared. At the same time when she said it, a wave of powder blew over the area. She inhaled some of it in her mouth and started coughing.

"Hey, are you alright?" Someone grabbed her arm, "Do you need anything?"

She shook her head, unable to speak. Her eyes widened when she saw who it was. Naruto.

"You sure?" he asked, "Hey, I can ask Sakura to help you out! She's a really good medic though…you're dressed up as a medic too!"

How did he know she was dressed as a medic…unless, he could see again? She smiled warmly on the inside. She would smile out front, if she wasn't coughing so badly.

When she tried to speak, she could only cough.

"Come on," he dragged her by the arm, "Let's go see her."

She shook her head, still trying to explain. It made sense that he didn't know who she was considering that he never saw her.

"Don't worry, she's real nice!" he reassured. He frowned, "Your scent smells familiar…I mean, it's not like I'm sniffing you out or anything!" He frantically raised his hands.

Sakura nodded. She might as well play along. The other nurses there would realize that she's Sakura anyways. How ironic. She spent the whole morning looking for him and the moment she gives up, he appears.

"Can't wait to see her again and Sasuke!" he laughed, almost skipping along as he walked.

She took a deep breath, finding it easier to breathe without talking. "Hey," she wheezed.

It was just a wheeze, but at that sound Naruto froze completely.

"Sakura?" he eyed her closely, grabbing her by the shoulders, "…It's really you!"

She nodded, a faint smile on her lips, "...T-Took you that…long, idiot!"

"What happened?" he asked quickly, "How come you were coughing so badly?"

"Someone…randomly sprayed pepper powder around," she coughed out; "…I'm okay."

"If you say so…"

"Hey…how come you didn't recognize me?" she asked. She looked straight into his eyes this time, knowing that he could see this time. His eyes moved away to the side.

Even though she knew the truth, she was still waiting, to hear Naruto's side of the story.

"So how come?"

He looked at her and she immediately wanted to take her words back. It was too late.

Naruto grinned a bit too awkward, "Let's just say…I did something bad and they punished me by taking away my eyesight…"

Sakura nodded, urging him to continue.

"But the old hag manage to convince them to take back that punishment so I can see again!" he did a thumbs up, "And…that's it. Let's go!" He was already turning to walk away.

Sakura felt the opportunity going away. She tried to speak, but her mouth couldn't form the right words. She didn't know what to say.

"I'll…" Naruto spoke up, "I'll explain later."

Sakura nodded from being. He sounded so serious this time she felt she could take his word. Besides, he was a person who kept his promises.

"Alright, or else you'll get it," she joked threateningly, lifting her fist. He winced and nodded.

Sakura froze, remembering that Sasuke's room was no longer available.

"Oh, and I found my teammate yesterday! He was wounded somehow though."

Naruto nodded in response, "How's your teammate doing?

"Okay, it's not anything serious so she should be waking up soon."

"I see," said Naruto, "Hope your friend gets better soon."

"Yeah," nodded Sakura, "…And Sasuke's out of the hospital so, I don't know what to do with you."

Naruto jolted, "That guy's finally escaped from the hospital?"

She shook her head, "That's not what I meant. He was allowed to leave."

"Really?" His eyes narrowed. "That guy's tricky and sly…"

Sakura laughed forcefully, "Sometimes. Anyways, I'll see what to do when we go to the hospital."

* * *

Sakura thought she was dreaming again.

When she got to the hospital, it was near empty. She even pinched herself to make sure she was not dreaming.

"Naruto-kun!" Hinata was out at the lobby.

"Hinata-chan?" he questioned. After he observed her for a while, he smiled and said, "Hey!"

Hinata replied back shyly, "I didn't see you yesterday…"

"Yeah I was—"

"Work time," Sakura clapped her hands, "How's Sai?"

"He's awake," Hinata said.

"Okay, we'll go see him now," she said.

"But," Hinata added, "No one's allowed to see him since the ANBU are questioning him right now."

"Did they state their reason?"

Hinata shook her head, "And, Tsunade-sama said that after Sakura-san finds Naruto, you should report to her office."

"New mission?" asked Sakura.

"That's all she said, Sakura-san. Sorry, I didn't ask," she backed up, "I should get back to work."

"Sorry for interrupting you so long."

Hinata shook her head, "Good l-luck."

It took less than a minute for the two of them to reach the Hokage's Tower at full speed.

"What's the hurry?" wondered Naruto, taking his time to walk up the stairs. Sakura was different. She looked back at him on the top of the stairs like he was crazy.

"Do you know how Tsunade-sama can be when people are late!?"

Naruto looked uncertainly to the left and right, then scratched the side of his head, "Huh?"

"That ninja who was late became so scared they couldn't speak for the whole mission."

"Who?"

"Chouji. He was late because of some barbeque he and his team were having."

"And couldn't speak the whole time out of fear from the old hag?" he looked close to tears from holding back his laughter.

"Yes," said Sakura exhaustingly. "Now stop stalling and get going already. We're going to be late and she won't be happy."

"Just trying to lighten up the atmosphere, Sakura-chan. You should relax a little sometimes!"

"Naruto!" she warned. He quieted down immediately.

She knocked on the door once and opened it immediately. They didn't make Tsunade wait too long, right? She peeked her head in first to make sure.

"Hey old hag!" Naruto pushed the door wide open and strolled in like he was walking down the streets.

"That idiot!" Sakura closed her eyes. She didn't want to see his guts spilling all over the Hokage's office.

"Naruto, where's Sakura?"

She opened her eyes. He didn't die yet? No, it would be pretty soon.

"Tell her she's dead if she doesn't show up in the next three seconds."

"Reporting for duty!" she said weakly.

"Close the door," Tsunade commanded. Her face wasn't red so she didn't look too angry. She threw a folder at Naruto, "Find that person."

Naruto opened the folder and flipped through the papers, "That guy?!"

Sakura walked up to Naruto and looked at the contents of the folder, "Jiraiya-sama?"

"Yes," announced Tsunade, "I need you find him immediately. Make sure he doesn't escape, like what the others have done."

Tsunade punched a fist on her desk, "He escaped from everybody I assigned this mission to so far. Naruto, Sakura, I'm counting on you two with time running short."

"Yes, Hokage-sama," said Sakura. This was going to be a hard mission. She would have to succeed in this mission if she didn't want Tsunade to scold both her and Naruto.

"Do we really have to?" asked Naruto, looking at the folder upside down.

Sakura widened her eyes, "Tsunade-sama, he doesn't mean that!"

"Yes I do," he protested, "He's too sinister. One false move and he'll escape like the little peeper he is!"

"Look, I wouldn't call you two if it wasn't urgent so stop complaining for once and get going!"

"Okay," replied Naruto reluctantly.

Sakura relaxed at this.

"Leave by noon if you can," commanded Tsunade, "We need to find him in the shortest time possible."

They began to leave when Tsunade spoke up, "If you feel you have a headache Naruto, take a rest and ask Sakura to look at you."

"Alright old hag."

Tsunade sighed, not bothering to correct the 'old hag'. She was used to it already.

* * *

"Okay! Its go time!" proclaimed Naruto.

"With ramen as our only food supply?" remarked Sakura bitterly.

"We have crackers," Naruto shrugged.

"Fine, I don't want ramen as our MAIN food supply for who knows how many days."

"It's noon already," said Naruto in a sing-song voice.

"Fine," Sakura grabbed her backpack, "We should visit that hot springs Tsunade mentioned from before."

"Right behind ya!"

Sakura smiled, "Ready to see the world with your eyes?"

Naruto did a lopsided smile, "Better if we weren't searching for a pervert."

"Pervert?" Sakura frowned.

Naruto merely nodded, "You'll see."


	10. Realizations of two people

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto nor will I ever

**Disclaimer**: I do not own Naruto nor will I ever.

**Summary**: "Haruno Sakura, you have been ordered to guard the prisoner Uzumaki Naruto." After a strict order from the Hokage, Sakura has been forced to conquer her greatest fear—the rumored beast of Konoha. The tragedy is slowly revealed, piece-by-piece.

**Pairing: **Naruto X Sakura

**AN: Kind of an easy-going chapter. Sorry for the lack of updates. I barely finished all my summer homework and summer's already over -- (And there's probably going to be tests when I get back to school.)**

* * *

**Broken Leaf**

_10. Realizations of two people_

_--_

"There's this, there's that, and there's that!" Sakura seized another glove from the stand, examined it closely with her eyes, placed it down picked up another.

"Too bad they don't look that strong…" she placed the bright pink glove slowly on the table, bringing it back so she could take a better look, and placed it back down. The glove was practically dancing in her hand, telling her to buy it.

"Sakura-chan?" Naruto walked up to the girl, bringing his hand near her shoulder. One more nervous glance from the girl forced him to retreat. He placed his hands behind his back and tried a smile. "The…mission?"

She kept her gaze on the pink glove, "We're at the hot springs aren't we? Go…enjoy yourself or something."

Naruto nodded slowly, turning away. He took one more look at the girl; she was still hovering over the stand. He waved good bye at her though he doubted she could see it.

Sakura switched her gaze to the red glove then back to the pink glove.

"Wait." She spun towards, "Which one is better?"

Naruto's eyes darted toward the ramen restaurant and then back at her, "Better?"

"Yes," Sakura nodded her head, "Which glove?" She pointed towards the two.

"Um…" He stared at both of the gloves and back to her, "I'm not really a glove person…" Naruto held his hands up and shrugged.

"Naruto," she grabbed him back, even closer to the stand now, "It's really simple. Just choose one." She stomped her foot.

He lifted an eyebrow, "If it's so easy, then why don't you choose one? I want ramen."

Her right eye twitched immediately and her fist tightened. "Just choose. If I could chose by myself I wouldn't have asked you."

"Red," he blurted, rubbing his poor stomach. The smell of ramen was floating right above his nose.

"Pink it is," she grabbed it.

Naruto's eyes widened, "What?"

It was Sakura's turn to look at Naruto, "What do you want now, Naruto?"

"You—just—" Naruto stared at her and rested his head on one of his hand, "Never mind."

Sakura was too busy paying the owner. After grabbing the glove she looked back to Naruto, "Where to?"

"Ramen, but I know that's a no…so to the hot springs," Naruto said.

"Hot springs?" Sakura placed her pink gloves on and smiled to herself.

Naruto stared at herself for a longer moment. When it was clear her mind was only on the pair of gloves he sighed, "He'll be there for sure. Trust me."

"Hm? Are you saying that shopping for gloves is a waste of time?" Sakura frowned, "You'd be like this if it was ramen."

"Does that mean we can go in that stand?"

"No."

* * *

Naruto crossed his hands behind his head. This was feeling more of a trip than a mission with Sakura here…

He tried to talk some sense in her, but decided against it. From his experiences with Tsunade (and since Sakura's her apprentice), women were not a force to be reckoned with. By the end, Sakura was dragging bags and bags of little trinkets. Besides, it wasn't very often that Sakura got to shop. She always worked long hours at the hospital without complaining even once. Sasuke had told Naruto a bit about it.

"Shouldn't we be finding Jiraiya?" Naruto asked.

"From what Tsunade said, he should be having a hangover right about now," Sakura said, "No point in searching for him if he's not around, right?"

"I guess…" Naruto rubbed his head then his stomach, "I'm starving…"

Sakura turned back to look at him, seemingly testing if he was indeed telling the truth. "Fine," she said after a while, "I bought some fast food a while ago in case you too hungry. It should be in one of these bags…just a moment."

That was weird. He had not remembered her buying food. Naruto shrugged; he was never a fan of shopping. It wasted too much money in his opinion.

He stood at a distance, walking Sakura search through the bags hanging from her arms. She searched through each frantically, like the food was going to disappear if she didn't find it in time.

"Do you need help—"

"No, I can find it," Sakura reassured, still going at a fast pace.

"You sure?" Naruto asked, already walking towards her.

"Yeah," Sakura nodded, "I'm fine."

Naruto sighed. From the looks of it, her stubbornness could match Tsunade, perhaps even beat the old hag. "Okay…"

The girl was so busy searching through her bags she failed to notice a cart running straight towards her. The man waved at her, shouted at her even. "Where is that food…" she said, still oblivious to what was happening. Her ears picked up the sound and she immediately looked up, widening her eyes. It was too late.

"Watch out!" Naruto grabbed Sakura just in time to prevent her from being hit by the cart. She felt a wave of relief flood through her until she realized what was happening.

Naruto's was really close to her. He was frozen, slightly looking at the cart and back at her. For once, the girl couldn't find the strength to talk back. It was a bit strange.

"You okay?" he asked.

Sakura nodded, not daring to speak. The mood was gone as soon as it arrived.

Sakura picked up the bags and continued walking, staying a few steps ahead of Naruto. For now, even thinking of how close they were caused her cheeks to go red.

"You okay?" Once again, Naruto's face was a few inches away from hers.

"Ah!" She stumbled and fell to the ground. Naruto winced.

"Sorry…didn't mean to surprise you by coming up so close," Naruto said.

Sakura looked up to see him scratching the back of his neck.

_He's been doing that a lot._

Then again, why did she care anyways? She got back on her feet, refusing Naruto's help.

Naruto took a few bags, "That should help! Right?"

"I-It's okay," Sakura reassured, but Naruto had already started walking ahead.

"Come on!" he called out, "The Hot Springs are waiting!"

"Coming!" Sakura took the remaining bags and broke into a sprint, "Wait up!"

They first returned to the hotel to dump the bags. The hotel manager looked at them like they were mad, muttering something about how teenagers wasted money. Sakura was about to talk back until Naruto suggested that they just ignored what the manager said. He did a sheepish grin before tailing Sakura up the stairs.

"It's better than what happened one time while I was traveling with the old pervert," he said.

"What happened?" she asked, taking out the key to open the door.

"The old pervert was so drunk one time while going back to the hotel, he called the hotel manager…" he started laughing at this point.

"What?" she frowned, "What happened?"

He stiffened his laughter, "he called the hotel manager…a hot babe!" Naruto leaned closer, "And I'm pretty sure it was this lady too…"

He leaned back to the wall, slightly frowning now, "It was an unpleasant experience. The old hermit tried to make a move on her and got us kicked us out to the streets."

"That's horrible!" Sakura turned the doorknob and entered her room.

"What's more, he left me to have more fun with other 'hot babes'," frowned Naruto, "it was only once of course. Never had the chance to travel with him again."

"Who would?" Sakura asked.

Naruto simply smiled and shrugged, "It was better than staying at Konoha."

Sakura looked down slightly, feeling a bit hurt.

"N-Not that it was bad or anything…" he scratched his neck.

"It's alright," she shook her head, "You can tell me the truth. Anyways, be right back. Let me put my stuff in my room and I'll be right out."

She grabbed her bags from Naruto and entered her room, closing the door behind. Once there, she took a deep breath. For some odd reason, she was getting nervous when she saw him. It wasn't like the nervousness she felt when she first met him. That was when she feared him because of the rumors.

Right now, it was a different kind of anxiety and a different kind of fear.

"Hot springs," she slapped her cheeks, as a method to wake her up, "How often do you get to the hot springs, Haruno Sakura!"

One of her hands would be enough to count the times she went to the hot springs for these past few years.

After calming down herself and placing her bags onto the floor, she walked back out.

"Hey," Naruto waved, "What took so long?"

The time she spent calming down had been wasted. The stupid feeling was back.

"S-Stuff," she said, "Too much stuff!"

Naruto nodded, "Hot springs then?"

Sakura felt her neck about to nod, "Wait! I think I'm going to go shopping first. Go on without me!"

"But…didn't you just—"

"I didn't finish," she lied, biting her lower lip. However, he seemed convinced and nodded.

"Okay…I'll go then…" Naruto said.

Sakura merely nodded and pushed him forward, "Go already!"

Naruto nodded…for now. There was something up with Sakura. He figured it was probably because she didn't want him around for some girl…stuff.

He walked to the hot springs, but decided to go eat ramen. After all, it was what he originally intended to do anyways.

* * *

Sakura waited until Naruto's footsteps were far away. She felt immediate relief to the strange stress she was feeling. Naruto was Naruto. That was that. With that in mind, she decided to set out to the hot springs again. She opened the door and walked out, muttering something before locking it.

"Arg…"

She froze at the sound of the groan. Who was in here?

"Naruto?" she asked. There was no reply and she knew Naruto wouldn't dare pull a joke on her like that.

"Arg…"

There it was again, echoing in the hallway. She trailed her steps carefully, placing a hand over her weapon pocket. She braced herself at a corner, turned, and—

"Jiraiya-sama!"

He was lying on the ground, half-drunk, and mumbling something that seemed to be a string of insults?

She walked to him, "Jiraiya-sama, Tsunade-sama has been looking for you." There was no response. Clearly, he was too drunk for his own good. Sighing, Sakura activated her chakra and cured Jiraiya of his miseries. He was awake soon enough.

"What?"

Clearly he was still half-asleep, but at least able to understand human language.

"Jiraiya-sama, Tsunade-sama has been looking for you," said Sakura, with a bit of annoyance in her tone.

The hermit rubbed his eyes, "You're that scrawny pupil of hers right?"

"Yes," Sakura gritted her teeth, "I'm Tsunade-sama's pupil and she requests that you come back to Konoha."

"Why?" asked Jiraiya, yawning. Sakura had to cover her nose. He reeked of alcohol all over.

"I do not know," Sakura stated, "Tsunade-sama has just requested that you come back _quickly_." She could never understand how someone like Jiraiya could be on the same level as Tsunade. Granted, they both seem to like alcohol as much, but Tsunade was much more responsible!

"Well," the toad hermit seemed to be in deep thought, "Tell her…another day! Bye!" With that he disappeared in a puff of smoke.

"Wait till I find him…"

Sakura groaned. She should have remembered Tsunade's warning.

By the time it was sunset, Sakura had searched all the hotel, shops, restaurants, and bars, but the hermit was nowhere to be found. It seemed like he had simply disappeared from the face of the earth. Where was the world coming to?

"Have you seen an old man with long white hair? He looks like a pervert, he is one!" she said to a person walking by. They merely shook their head, like the most of them. The ones that had seen him were mostly pretty girls. From what they said, they had seen him a week ago, pestering them.

When she felt hope was lost, she walked to the hot springs. Naruto might be still in there, waiting for her. However, he wasn't there when she got in. The workers there even told her that they had never seen a blond teenager walk in. Sakura panicked and ran.

He hadn't gotten upset that she refused to go with him…right?

She slapped her forehead. This was just great. Now she had to look for both Jiraiya and Naruto, as if Jiraiya wasn't a hard enough person to find.

Her legs picked up a high speed as she skid across the town's path. No matter where she looked, Naruto was nowhere to be found. She had to give Naruto credit. Even though he was wearing that outrageous orange, it was still hard to search for him in a crowd of people.

"Naruto!" she called out. A dozen of people looked at her like she was crazy, but she merely shoved her way out of the crowd and continued elsewhere.

The sun had nearly disappeared and there was still no sign of orange anymore. The idea irked Sakura a bit, the idea that Naruto was made at her. She didn't have enough brainpower to continue thinking so she merely concentrated on finding the blonde.

"Uzumaki, you brat, show yourself or if my fists find you first!" she yelled, scaring several of the inhabitants of the town. She merely regarded them with an indifferent face. So what if she was yelling? They would have to deal with it.

"Sakura!" Her head whipped back in a second and caught sight of the blond hauling something rather…huge, "Found him!"

She rushed over and nearly whacked him on the head. The only thing stopping her was the sight of what he had been dragging on the floor.

"Jiraiya-sama?" she asked, raising her eyebrows, "How did you catch him?"

Naruto flashed a light grin, "Hot springs!"

* * *

The journey back home was shorter than Sakura would have like it. Pretty soon, they were back in Konoha, with Jiraiya still half-drunk and mumbling strange words. After his last escape, Sakura figured that the sooner she brought the hermit to Tsunade, the better.

"Where were you?" asked Sakura, "Do you know how long I was trying to find you?" She hated her tone of voice; it made her sound worried, something she was not proud of showing.

"Sorry," Naruto said quickly, irritating her further as it showed that he sensed that she was worried. "I was hungry so I went to eat ramen first. It might have been why you might have not been able to find me."

"I searched the ramen shop…"

"Well, I moved around since I figured I should start looking for the old pervert," said Naruto, "He doesn't stay in one town for long and it would have been bad if he escaped or something like that…" He laughed as if to lighten the mood.

"Well, be more organized!" said Sakura, "You have a team member now so it'd be nice to keep her informed about what you're doing. We're a team, right?"

Sakura noticed that Naruto's face looked surprised for one second before it changed into a merry one.

"Yeah!" he nodded."A team!"

Somehow, it brought a smile to her face as well. Perhaps it was because she finally had a team again.

--

Up next: See how Sasuke organizes Sakura's apartment ;)


	11. Love

**Disclaimer**: I do not own Naruto nor will I ever.

**Summary**: "Haruno Sakura, you have been ordered to guard the prisoner Uzumaki Naruto." After a strict order from the Hokage, Sakura has been forced to conquer her greatest fear—the rumored beast of Konoha. The tragedy is slowly revealed, piece-by-piece.

**Pairing: **Naruto X Sakura

**AN: **Interesting note: I edited the past chapters, from 1-9. I noticed a bit of inconsistency with both Naruto's and Sakura's feelings. I found myself flinching at the characters' certain actions. It didn't match their mindset, so I just had to go back and change them. I would appreciate if you guys went back to read it. I feel the edits are more natural for the characters. But without further ado, the latest chapter!

**

* * *

Love  
**

_What did Uzumaki Naruto mean to her?_

It was sudden, but the question appeared in her mind, and no matter how much Sakura tried to focus on another subjects, the question remained. She gave the first answer that came to her mind at first, that they were simple acquaintances, bond together by work. And when she was done, Uzumaki Naruto would promptly disappear from her life. But that only served to create yet another troublesome question that her mind decided to concoct out of the blue.

_Would she want Uzumaki Naruto to disappear from her life?_

Of course, should have been the answer. The shock she had first received from being assigned to guard Uzumaki Naruto had still not worn off. Even in her fingers, she could feel the chill of the prison cell and finding Uzumaki sitting in the center of it all, simply smiling. That's right. From the day he left his prison till now, he had always given Sakura his best smile. She was sure of it. It had been her that had been suspicious of his intent, and had always thrown fits of anger that amounted to embarrassment.

Blond haired spilled into her eyesight, bright as the Sun. "Are you still worried?"

That seemed to bring her out of her stance. Her eyes blinked, the vivid green clear as ever. "About what?"

Naruto raised an eyebrow, the corner of his lips slight curving, until it looked as if he had been thoroughly affected by her nonchalant answer. Then, like a spring, his hand shot up from his side to Sakura's forehead. It stayed there for a moment, cool against the heat of her face. Then he pressed his other hand against his forehead. "You don't seem to have a fever."

Her forehead creased and she used her own arm to get his away from her face. It made her feel uncomfortably hot, as if all her blood had rushed to her cheeks, "Of course not. Do you expect me to get sick just from going to the Hot Springs?" Her voice was slightly chiding, she realized. She softened her tone. "Well, thanks for your concern anyways, but it isn't needed. I'm not that weak, you know?"

Naruto nodded, a bit weakly. "So," he said, his face back to that questioning look, "Are you worried?" He raised his eyebrow again, for apparent emphasis.

"About what?" she asked, a soft sign escaping from her lips. It was the best she could do without laughing at his antics, a childish face. Still, it pleased her to know that he had opened up to her. She knew that compared to his polite smiles from the first day she met him, she preferred this Naruto, the one that cracked an occasional joke, the best. He also looked more handsome, when he was informal, she realized. His natural smile attracted her the most; there was something about the way he was able to crack a grin, even in the best and worst of times.

In response to her question, he pointed with his thumb to his back; he currently carried a knocked-out Jiraiya, whose snore was loud enough to beat the summer chirp of the crickets.

"All the more reason we should hurry back," stated Sakura.

"You never answer my question," pointed out Naruto.

She looked down, "Things could become severe if Jiraiya-sama doesn't return to Konoha immediately, for both Tsunade and you." The smile on his face relaxed, until it became more of a neutral line, neither a frown nor a grin. "We should hurry," she said.

He nodded, the gentle curve visible on his serene face. But, out of the corner of her eyes, Sakura saw the blond tighten his hold on Jiraiya. Then the ends of his lips seemed to falter for a bit. _He was worried. _Despite her protest, the image burned into her mind and no matter how she tried, the melancholy look on Uzumaki Naruto's face would not fade away, even with the passing of time. Implications would have suggested that Sakura's feelings were rapidly changing for the blond, but her heart stubbornly refused to listen. Friends, she argued, were the only reason she worried for the blond, cried when he lamented, and smiled when he grinned.

It made it all the better that Sakura never did listen to reason, so when her brain argued against the validity of hers, she simply ignored it.

When they arrived at the gates of Konoha, the gigantic towering walls, she volunteered to arrive first, seeing how urgent the matter at hand was. "I'll go in first. See you, later!"

"Wait, Sakura." His voice stopped her in her steps. She turned around, to see his cheerful face, once more. Only this time, it looked somewhat forced, similar to the smile she had seen on the first day she met him. He shook his head, "N-Never mind. Just promise me, that you'll be safe. And, don't worry about me."

"I'm only going to be separated from your for a few minutes," she laughed and proceeded into Konoha.

It was a mistake that she would regret to this day.

* * *

When she spoke with Tsunade, it was with the Council as well.

"Tsunade-sama, we have arrived with the desired target. As we speak, Uzumaki Naruto is coming with Jiraiya-sama," said Sakura. From this, Tsunade nodded weakly. Sakura frowned, sure that her teacher would have given a much more lively expression than just a weak nod of the neck. But before she could express her protest, her teacher spoke and she was forced to keep silent. The last thing she needed was for Tsunade to scold her for interrupting her while the Elders were around.

"Good job, Sakura." Her voice revealed the age of her teacher; every word sounded heavy, as if the impact of something heavy might hit Sakura at any instant.

She breathed in, "Is…there anything else you want to tell me, sensei?"

Her mentor hid her face behind her hands, so that Sakura could not see her expression. But from the severity of the scene, Sakura's heart involuntarily started to beat quickly. "What? Did anything happen?"

Tsunade stared up, from her hands. Sakura noticed the dark curves that had appeared under her mentor's eyes. They revealed the further aging her mentor had seemingly gone through in the absence of Uzumaki and her. "Uzumaki Naruto, is there anything wrong?" Her voice climbed another octave and sounded something akin to a squeaky teenager. She flinched inwardly as the Elders looked at her questioningly, as if they were berating her for worrying about the boy.

"Haruno Sakura, you are relived from your duty. Uzumaki Naruto will no longer be in your care. He will be kept in captivity again." One of the elders had said this.

For a moment, Sakura did not feel anything. Time had stopped for her, and the space floating around her was timeless and soft, like a wave of hot air. Then her heart flopped and fell. Something ached in her chest and it couldn't have been her heart, she thought, because her heart had just dropped into her stomach. It couldn't have been her heart, because it wouldn't be aching like as if it had been stabbed. It wouldn't have been as painful because there was no knife in her chest. But why, then, did it feel as if someone important was pulled forcefully away from her grasp, like her teammates had been, one by one?

"Sakura, are you okay?" Tsunade's voice pulled at Sakura's conscience, until her eyes snapped back into focus. It was when she noticed the background was blurred. She blinked, and a drop of water dripped from her eyes. "Sakura, answer me."

She so desperately wanted to answer no, scream the word over again like a little child when something important got taken away from her, and complain until her teacher brought back Naruto and freed him from that horror of a jail.

"I…" The softness of her words scared her. Rather, it was the lack of strength in her words. She felt as if the air had been deflated out of her and she was merely an empty vessel. She looked around the room and saw the disgusted looks on the Elders. She wanted to scream at them, threaten them with her ridiculous strength until they agreed to release Naruto. But, she couldn't, not without giving more trouble to Tsunade and Naruto. She looked down to the floor, closed her eyes. She could not allow herself to cry in front of the Elders. "Uzumaki Naruto. _He means nothing to me_."

With that, she departed away from the scene.

* * *

It was then she realized that there was nothing she could do for him. Her power was useless. She was even prevented from asking questions about his whereabouts. Slowly, she managed to reach her apartment, a void little space. She inserted her key in the lock, but found that she could not open the door. She looked down and saw that she had not managed to insert the key into the keyhole. She tried again, but fumbled. She tried another time. When she failed, she threw the key against the surface of the door and in desperation, kicked the door with her leg. A loud thump followed as the girl slumped to the floor, her pink hair covering the upper half of her face, her arms limp besides her side.

"He-He knew," the words gushed out of her mouth. The image of Naruto at the gate flashed in her head, and it was at the moment, her tears flowed out as well, wet and warm. But then, the door opened with a slight creak and Sakura was not alone anymore. She pressed her face against the cloth of her skirt.

"Sakura."

"Sasuke," she greeted, her voice still raw. She stood up, dusting the invisible dust around her skirt. More importantly, she had her head down. "I'm really tired today, so I think I'll just go to sleep." She pushed pass the Uchiha and would have successfully reached her room, if not for the fact that he had grabbed her hand at the last second. She froze, not daring to meet his eyes. She lifted her head, willing the tears to stop, but it was impossible. Everything in her house reminded her of Naruto. It was at this, her tears paused.

There was something different about her house.

"I moved around some of the furniture while you were gone."

Her lips were slightly parted and in only a while, she knew that hiccups would follow. She felt Sasuke release his hold around her wrist. Her legs moved automatically, her weight causing the floorboards to creak ever so slight.

Everything was so different. The clock she had grown to love was placed in another position in the living room, where it was closer to her bedroom. It ticked systemically but somehow, to her ears, it sounded off-beat. She turned around. The sofa was around the window instead next to the hallway. The table, the one where she had found to be filled with dust merely after a few days of neglectance, was cleanly polished and sitting around the kitchen. Bitting her lower lip, she ran to Naruto's room. It was rearranged as well; there was not a speck of dust to be seen. The mattress was placed so that it would not block the door. She found that there was an open pathway because of this, despite Uzumaki's claims that it was impossible. It was so unlike the way Uzumaki had kept it. _There was no sign that Uzumaki Naruto had indeed existed here. Everything was different._

She turned around, only to collide with Sasuke's chest. She backed up instinctively, trying to turn her face away.

"What happened, Sakura?" His voice sounded warm for once, unlike the cold tone she was so familiar with. It was still not as warm as Naruto's voice had been. His hands moved to touch her cheek, but she only flinched. Sakura didn't apologize.

She placed a placid smile on her face, forced herself to. "Nothing. I just had a tough day."

"Sakura—

"I'm tired. I want to sleep," she said, pushing pass her teammate. When she reached the doorway to her room, she stopped, and turned to Sasuke. "You can sleep there for tonight. Uzu—No one's using it tonight."

When she entered her room, she slammed the door completely behind her, unlike when Naruto was here. She would leave it open, least he cause any trouble in her home. It allowed her to better hear the sounds around her house. She laughed bitterly at this, remembering the time that the blond had caused such a loud clatter that she found herself awake for the whole night.

Sakura did not change into her pajamas. Instead, she plopped down onto her bed and could not find the will to fall asleep.

_What did Uzumaki Naruto mean to her?_

* * *

It's a sad chapter. T.T Sorry about this, guys. I update a new chapter in a long while and it's a sad one...


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